;-NRLF 


«*  Itent 


LIBRARY 

OK  THE 

University  of  California. 


GIFT    OF 


Class 


W&t  9®t$0eiQt$  of  tfie  25tble 

EDITED   BY 

Frank    K.    Sanders,    Ph.D.,    President  of  Washburn    College, 

Topeka,    Kansas,    and    Professor    Charles    F.    Kent, 

Ph.D.,  of  Yale  University 

A  new  series,  in  which  emphasis  is  placed  upon  the  concise,  for- 
cible, and  realistic  interpretation  of  the  Bible.  The  books  of  the 
Bible  are  grouped  according  to  a  natural  classification,  their  contents 
arranged  in  the  order  of  appearance,  and  a  scholarly  yet  popular 
paraphrase  of  their  distinctive  thought  given  in  plain  and  expressive 
English.  The  purpose  of  this  series  is  to  enable  any  reader  of  the 
Bible  to  understand  its  meaning  as  a  reverent  scholar  of  to-day  does, 
and  in  particular  to  receive  the  exact  impression  which  the  words  as 
originally  heard  or  read  must  have  made  upon  those  for  whom  they 
were  delivered. 

This  series  is  not  a  substitute  for  the  Bible,  but  an  aid  to  the 
reverent,  appreciative,  and  enthusiastic  reading  of  the  Scriptures ;  in 
fact,  it  will  serve  the  purpose  of  an 

ORIGINAL  AND  POPULAR  COMMENTARY 

Technicalities  and  unsettled  questions  will  be,  as  far  as  possible, 
ignored.  Ea  h  volume  will  be  prepared  by  a  leading  specialist,  and 
will  contain  such  brief  introductions  as  serve  to  put  the  reader  into 
intelligent  relation  to  the  general  theme  treated.  The  editorial  re- 
arrangement of  the  order  of  the  Biblical  books  or  sections  will  repre- 
sent the  definite  results  of  sober  scholarship. 


I.  The  Messages  of  the  Earlier  Prophets. 

II.  The  Messages  of  the  Later  Prophets. 

III.  The  Messages  of  the  Law  Givers. 

IV.  The  Messages  of  the  Prophetical  and  Priestly  His- 

torians. 

V.  The  Messages  of  the  Psalmists. 

VI.  The  Messages  of  the  Sages. 

VII.  The  Messages  of  the  Poets. 

VIII.  The  Messages  of  the  Apocalyptic  Writers. 

IX.  The  Messages  of  Jesus  according  to  the  Synoptists. 

X.  The  Messages  of  Jesus  according  to  John. 

XI.  The  Messages  of  Paul. 

XII.  The  Messages  of  the   Apostles. 


ffbe  flDessaees  of  tbe  Bible 

EDITED  BY 

°rofessor  Frank  K.  Sanders,  Ph.D. 

formerly  of  Yale  University 

AND 

Professor  Charles  F.  Kent,  Ph.D. 

of  Yale  University 


VOLUME   VIII 

THE   MESSAGES   OF   THE   APOCALYPTICAL 
WRITERS 


Ubc  flDessaaes  of  tbe  JBtble 


THE  MESSAGES  OF  THE 
APOCALYPTICAL  WRITERS 

THE  BOOKS  OF  DANIEL  AND  REVELATION 
AND  SOME  UNCANONICAL  APOCALYPSES 
WITH  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTIONS  AND 
A    FREE    RENDERING    IN    PARAPHRASE 


BY 

Frank  Chamberlin  Porter,  Ph.D.,  D.D. 

Winkley  Professor  of  Biblical  Theology  in 
Yale  University 


NEW   YORK 

CHARLES    SCRIBNER'S  SONS 
I9II 


Copyright,  1905, 

by 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 


Published,  February,  1905 


<  * .  • 


> 


Go 

MY   FATHER 

ONE  OF  THOSE  WHO  SEE 

IN  DAILY  LIFE  AND  COMMON  THINGS 

A  REVELATION  OF  GOD 


235423 


PREFACE 

The  books  of  Daniel  and  Revelation  are  rather  a  per- 
plexity than  a  comfort  to  the  average  reader  of  the  Bible. 
Some,  indeed,  in  every  age  have  taken  delight  in  these 
books  above  all  others  just  because  of  their  mystery,  but 
for  the  majority,  apart  from  the  impressive  admonitions  in 
the  letters  at  the  beginning  of  Revelation,  and  the  glow- 
ing pictures  of  the  New  Jerusalem  at  the  end,  these  have 
been  sealed  books.     In  quite  recent  times  the  historical 
method  has,  it  is  not  too  much  to  say,  broken  the  seals. 
To  the  historical  student  these  apocalypses  have  become, 
in  their  general  character  and  chief  message,  among  the 
best  instead  of  quite  the  least  understood  books  of  the 
canon.     And  their  importance  has  grown  with  their  un- 
derstanding.    Out  of  the  background  to  which  they  were 
relegated  they  have  suddenly  been  pushed  far  forward, 
too  far  it  may  be,  into  the  front  rank  of  historical  docu- 
ments.    They  are  no  longer  supposed  to  cast  light  upon 
the  actual  constitution  of  the  unseen  universe,  or  upon 
our  own  present,  and  the  time  and  manner  of  the  end  of  the 
world;  but  they  are  found  in  a  high  degree  illuminating 

ix 


Preface 

in  regard  to  a  past  history,  one  moreover,  with  which  we 
are  deeply  concerned.  It  is,  so  we  are  now  told,  chiefly 
from  the  apocalypses,  canonical  and  uncanonical,  that 
we  are  to  gain  an  understanding  of  the  Jewish  religion  of 
the  time  of  Christ.  It  is  from  these  books  that  we  are  to 
get  a  true  conception  of  the  faiths  and  hopes,  the  motives 
and  emotions  of  primitive  Christianity.  They  are  to  serve 
as  one  of  our  chief  helps  to  an  understanding  of  the  Pau- 
line Christology,  and  even  as  our  principal  way  of  approach 
to  that  central  and  supreme  problem  of  historian  and 
theologian  alike,  the  Messianic  self-consciousness  of  Jesus 
himself.  The  apocalyptic  eschatology  was,  we  are  now 
assured,  the  source  and  soul  of  Christ's  own  faith  in  his 
mission  and  in  the  coming  Kingdom  of  God.  Hence  the 
new  zest  with  which  the  modern  scholar  approaches  the 
study  of  the  apocalypses.  His  hope  is  through  these  strange 
books,  not  to  unveil  the  future,  but  to  enter  deeply  into 
the  inner  life  of  Judaism  during  a  critical  and  fateful  epoch 
of  its  history,  and  ultimately  to  lift  the  veil  of  a  mystery 
that  attracts  and  baffles  him  far  more  than  does  the  mys- 
tery of  the  angel  world  or  even  that  of  the  future,  the  mys- 
tery of  the  personality  of  Jesus  Christ.  This  ultimate 
historical  significance  of  apocalyptical  studies  lies  beyond 
the  range  of  our  present  modest  undertaking.  The  fact 
that  such  significance  is  claimed  for  them  by  many  of  our 
best   scholars,  whatever  may  be  the  precise  measure  of 

x 


Preface 

truth  in  the  claim,  at  least  illustrates  the  importance  of  an 
understanding  of  the  historical  approach  to  this  literature, 
and  justifies  the  attempt  to  make  historical  methods  and 
results  in  this  region  familiar  to  a  somewhat  wider  circle  of 
readers  and  students  of  the  Bible.  It  is  true  that  the  effort 
to  make  intelligible  the  general  character  and  message  of 
the  apocalypses  may  seem  anything  but  a  modest  one, 
since  in  the  common  opinion  these  books  cannot  be  un- 
derstood, and  probably  were  not  meant  to  be.  But  it  is 
certain  that  the  historical  method  of  Biblical  study  has 
nowhere  vindicated  itself  more  conspicuously  than  in  the 
investigation  of  this  literature,  and  nowhere  produced  results 
more  radical  and  at  the  same  time  more  convincing.  It 
should  be  possible  in  a  book  like  this  to  introduce  some 
readers  to  whom  these  results  are  not  yet  familiar  to  the  new 
method  and  its  general  outcome.  It  can  surely  be  made 
clear  to  unprejudiced  minds  that  it  is  impossible  to  under- 
stand the  apocalypses  apart  from  the  political  situations  and 
the  party  divisions  and  conflicts  that  called  them  forth.  It 
can  be  shown  how  the  apocalypse  stands  related  to  proph- 
ecy, how  wide  its  divergence  and  how  close  its  dependence. 
It  can  be  made  plain,  in  other  words,  that  the  mysteries 
that  perplex  us  in  these  books  find  their  explanation 
rather  in  events  and  conditions  of  their  own  times  and  in 
books  and  traditions  of  their  past,  than  in  events  future 
to  their  writers  and  perhaps  future  still  to  us. 

xi 


Preface 

In  this  little  book  on  apocalypses  the  reader  will  find, 
therefore,  no  flights  of  fancy,  and  no  ecstasies  of  emotion, 
but  much  history,  many  references  to  Old  Testament 
prophecy,  many  discussions  of  ancient  traditions  and 
their  remote  and  sometimes  foreign  beginnings,  and  of 
course  throughout  not  much  that  is  new,  but  a  constant 
use  of  the  work  of  recent  scholarship.  In  comparison 
with  other  books  in  this  series  of  Messages  the  proportion 
of  introduction  and  notes  may  seem  large,  but  the  way  to 
an  understanding  of  these  books  is  indirect,  and  more  mis- 
leading and  treacherous  paths  have  been  started  in  this 
region  than  in  any  other,  so  that  some  greater  pains  to  get 
our  feet  on  firm  ground  and  find  an  open  path  seemed  to 
be  required. 

No  doubt  some  who  have  no  quarrel  with  historical 
methods  in  themselves  will  yet  protest  that  a  treatment 
of  the  apocalypses  in  which  imagination  and  emotion  are 
repressed  fails  to  appreciate  these  books  in  their  true 
character.  They  belong  essentially,  it  may  be  said,  to 
poetic  literature.  They  are  meant  precisely  to  stimulate 
the  imagination  and  stir  the  feelings.  It  is  better  for  us 
to  let  our  minds  soar  in  such  company  than  to  try  to  get 
our  feet  upon  the  ground.  Against  such  possible  criti- 
cism the  book  must  be  left  to  justify  itself  if  it  can.  It  is 
hoped  that  the  poetic  value  of  the  apocalypses  has  been 
given  a  measure  of  recognition.     There  is  indeed  no  higher 

xii 


Preface 

or  more  fitting  use  to  which  such  books  can  be  put  than  the 
use  which  the  last  chapters  of  Revelation  find  in  the  burial 
liturgy.  If  we  could  grasp  the  underlying  faiths  that  have 
clothed  themselves  in  these  strange  forms,  faith  in  the 
kingship  of  God,  and  the  sure  triumph  of  good  over  evil, 
and  the  heavenly  blessedness  of  those  who  hold  to  God's 
side  amid  whatever  shame  and  abuse  and  in  the  face  of 
death;  if  through  the  peculiar  imagery  and  obscure  sym- 
bolism of  the  books  we  could  feel  the  power  of  the  unseen 
world  and  gain  a  fresh  sense  of  its  reality;  then  this  use, 
call  it  literary,  or  call  it  devotional,  would  be  the  best  use 
to  which  the  books  could  be  put,  and  even  most  in  accord- 
ance with  the  highest  mood  and  real  purpose  of  rheir  writers. 
Then  the  protest  against  an  unemotional,  scientific  treat- 
ment of  such  literature  would  be  not  without  foundation, 
though  even  then  not  wholly  justified.  We  have  a  poet's 
treatment  of  Revelation  in  Christina  Rossetti's  The  Face 
of  the  Deep.  She  finds  Patience  as  our  lesson  in  the  book. 
Besides  mysteries  that  no  insight  or  profundity  of  mortal 
man  can  explain  she  reads  also  throughout  clear  and  defi- 
nite lessons  enforcing  what  we  must  or  must  not  do  or 
be,  and  sees  the  purpose  of  it  all  in  this,  that  we  fear  God 
and  keep  his  commandments.  We  have  learned  enough 
when  we  have  learned  his  will.  Not  attempting  much 
interpretation,  she  finds  in  the  book  constant  incitements 
to  meditation,  prayer  and  song.     Giving  up  the  effort  to 

xiii 


Preface 

discern  the  unity  and  sequence  that  must  bind  it  together, 
studying  it  only  piece  by  piece,  word  by  word,  she  is  sat- 
isfied if  it  but  summon  her  to  watch  and  pray  and  give 
thanks,  and  urge  her  to  climb  heavenward.  Such  an  aim  is 
surely  the  highest,  incomparably  better  than  that  of  those 
who  search  the  book  for  predictions  of  the  course  of  history 
and  the  time  of  the  end.  Yet  we  find  with  regret  that  the 
lack  of  a  reasonable  view  of  the  historical  place  and  char- 
acter of  the  Apocalypse  involves  the  assumption  of  mistaken 
and  impossible  views,  so  that  this  poet's  commentary  is  not 
a  book  that  most  of  us  can  use  with  full  sympathy  and  the 
best  profit  for  its  intended  purpose,  devotion. 

In  truth  much  in  the  apocalypses  cannot  easily  be  read 
as  the  poetry  of  faith  and  hope;  and  in  general  these  books 
have  not  been  read  as  poetry,  but  the  poetic  character 
which  in  some  degree  they  have  has  been  obscured.  They 
have  been  taken  much  more  literally  than  their  authors 
intended,  as  disclosures  of  details  of  the  future,  and  quite 
contrary  to  their  intention  as  if  they  concerned  remote 
times.  With  reverence  and  awe,  with  infinite  patience 
and  ingenuity  men  have  sought  from  early  times  until  now 
to  find  the  place  and  meaning  of  their  own  present  in  the 
apocalyptic  scheme,  and  to  reckon  the  time  remaining 
before  the  end  of  the  world.  The  historical  studies  which 
make  such  an  appraisal  of  these  books  impossible  may 
clear  the  way  for  a  truer  appreciation  of  the  life  of  faith 

xiv 


Preface 

and  feeling  that  flows  beneath  them.  No  doubt  historical 
studies  will  sober  the  eager  longings  and  high  expectations 
with  which  the  devout  poet  approaches  the  Apocalypse, 
yet  such  studies  should  open  rather  than  blind  our  eyes  to 
the  genuineness  and  intensity  of  the  religious  convictions 
and  emotions  which  produced  these  books  and  were  called 
forth  by  them.  Surely  from  books  that  inspired  martyrs, 
faith  can  gain  inspiration  in  all  ages  for  the  victory  that 
overcomes  the  world.  But  if  we  are  to  make  our  way 
through  the  difficult  form  to  the  abiding  treasure  of  these 
books  we  must  read  them  not  only  with  the  spirit  but  with 
the  understanding  also. 

As  helps  to  the  understanding  the  introductions  and 
paraphrases  here  given  are  intended  to  serve.  The  para- 
phrases should  not  be  regarded  as  attempts,  in  the  phrase 
of  a  recent  essayist,  at  " improving  the  style  of  the  Bible." 
They  are  meant  to  be  read  by  the  side  of  the  familiar  ver- 
sions, not  in  their  place;  as  a  brief  commentary,  not  as  a 
piece  of  religious  literature.  Without  the  poetic  form  and 
fervor  of  the  original  though  they  be,  and  adverse  to  many 
of  the  uses  to  which  religious  fancy  has  put  these  books, 
it  is  hoped  that  they  may  yet  help  to  prepare  some  minds 
for  a  more  deeply  appreciative  and  religiously  helpful  use 
of  them.  They  may  at  least  make  a  fresh  impression  of 
the  significance  of  two  of  the  greater  crises  in  the  history 
of  religion,  the  struggle  of  Judaism  with  Antiochus  and 

xv 


Preface 

Hellenism,  and  the  struggle  of  Christianity  with  Rome; 
and  may  give  a  more  vivid  sense  of  the  mystery  of  the  divine 
Providence  which  orders  human  history,  overruling  evil  for 
good,  humbling  the  proud  and  exalting  the  lowly,  restrain- 
ing the  wrath  of  man  and  vindicating  his  faith, — that  all- 
comprehending  Providence  in  which  the  apocalyptical  writ- 
ers so  deeply  believed,  whose  ways  they  so  earnestly  sought 
to  explore.  Frank  C.  Porter. 

Yale  University,  January,  1905. 


xvi 


CONTENTS 
INTRODUCTION 

PAGE 

I.  The  Apocalyptical  Books,  their  Number  and 

Scope 3 

II.  Their  Historical  Place  and  Significance   ...  10 

III.  The  Relation  of  Apocalypse  to  Prophecy     .     .  20 

IV.  Pseudonymous  Authorship 27 

V.  The  Apocalyptical  Vision 34 

VI.  The  Literary  Composition  of  Apocalypses    .     .  44 

VII.  Their  Messages  for  their  Own  Times  ....  49 

VIII.  Their  Messages  for  Our  Time 64 

THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

I.  Introduction  to  the  Book  of  Daniel 

1.  The  Jews  under  Greek  Rule 79 

2.  Character  and  Career  of  Antiochus  IV    ...     .  82 

3.  Evidence  that  Daniel  belongs  to  the  Time  of  An- 

tiochus           97 

4.  The  Exact  Date 105 

5.  The  History  of  the  Book 108 

xvii 


Contents 

PAGE 

II.  The  Rewards  of  Fidelity  to  the  Law  and  of 
Faith  in  God  (Daniel  1-6) 

i.  Loyalty  to  the  Ceremonial  Law  (i) no 

2.  Dream  of  Four  World  Kingdoms  and  the  King- 

dom of  God  (2)     112 

3.  Faith  Tried  by  Fire  (3) 116 

4.  The  Proud  King's  Humiliation  (4) 117 

5.  God's  Judgment  upon  a  Sacrilegious  King  (5)  .     .  120 

6.  God's  Protection  of  One  who  will  not  Worship 

a  King  (6) 122 

III.  Visions  of  the  Fall  of  Antiochus  and  the  Com- 
ing of  the  Kingdom  of  God  (7-12) 

1.  Origin  and  Growth  of  the  Vision  of  Four  Beasts     125 

2.  "  One  Like  unto  a  Son  of  Man" 129 

3.  The  Four  World  Kingdoms  and  the  Kingdom  of 

God  (7) 134 

4.  Duration  of  the  Temple's  Desecration   ....     138 

5.  The  Victorious  Alexander  and  the  Despotic  An- 

tiochus (8) 139 

6.  The  Seventy  Weeks  of  Years 142 

7.  The  Explanation  of  Jeremiah's  Seventy  Years  (9)  147 

8.  History  in  the  Form  of  Vision 149 

9.  An  Angel's  Interpretation  of  History  and  its  Con- 

summation (10-12) 155 

THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION 

I.  Introduction  to  the  Book  of  Revelation 

1.  The  Book  as  an  Apocalypse 169 

2.  Methods  of  its  Interpretation 172 

3.  Its  Composition  and  Place 174 

4.  The  Author 182 

xviii 


Contents 

PAGE 

5.  The  Historical  Situation  and  Date 185 

6.  The  Canonicity  of  the  Book 19° 

7.  Its  Teachings  and  Value *92 

II.  The  Messages  of  Christ  to  the  Churches 

1.  The  Seven  Churches  of  Asia 194 

2.  The  Letters  to  the  Churches  (1-3) 202 

(1)  Superscription  (1 : 1-3) 202 

(2)  Introduction  (1:4-8) 202 

(3)  The  Prophet's  Call  and  Commission  (1:9-20)       .  203 

(4)  The  Seven  Letters  (2-3) 204 

III.  Vision  of  the  Chief  Actors  of  the  Future 

1.  Sources  and  Character  of  the  Visions  of  God  and 

of  Christ 2°9 

2.  Vision  of  God  from  Whom  are  all  Things  (4)  .     .     214 

3 .  Vision  of  Christ  through  Whom  are  all  Things  ( 5  )     215 

IV.  Visions  of  the  First  Stages  of  the  Coming  Judg- 

ment 

1.  Significance  of  the  Six  Seals 216 

2.  The  Six  Destructive  Powers  (6)    .     . 

3.  Anticipations  in  Forms  Old  and  New 

4.  The  Salvation  of  the  Faithful  (7)  .     . 

(1)  The  Safety  of  the  Saints  (7 : 1-8)     . 

(2)  The  Heavenly  Bliss  of  Martyrs  (7:9-17) 

5.  The  Imagery  of  Earthquake  and  Volcano 

6.  The  Six  Partial  Judgments  (8-9)  .     .     • 

V.  Visions  of  the  Last  Stages  of  the  Coming  Judg- 
ment 

1.  The  Prophet's  New  Commission  (10)    ....     228 

2.  Jewish  Oracles  and  their  Christian  Use  ....     229 

xix 


219 
220 

222 
222 
222 

223 
225 


Contents 

PAGE 

3.  The  Salvation  of  Saints  and  Martyrs  (11:  1-13)  .     231 

(1)  The  Safety  of  True  Worshippers  of  God  (11: 1-2)     231 

(2)  The  Work  and  Reward  of  Martyrs  (11:3-13)       .     232 

4.  A  Heavenly  Song  Anticipating  the  Victory  of  God 

(n  :  14-19) *3Z 

5.  The  Figure  of  the  Dragon,  the  Woman  and  the 

Child 234 

6.  The  Ultimate  Power  of  Evil,  Satan  (12)  ....     241 

7.  The  King  and  the  Priest  in  the  Realm  of  Evil  .     .     243 

8.  The  Agents  of  Satan,  the  Roman  Empire  and 

Cultus  (13) 249 

9.  The  Opposing  Host,  Christ  and  the  Undefiled 

(14:1-5) 251 

10.  Last  Warnings  (14  :  6-20) 252 

XI.  Vision  of  the  Seven-fold  Wrath  of   God    (15- 

16) 254 

12.  The  Figure  of  the  Scarlet  Beast  and  the  Woman- 

City    257 

13.  The  Fall  of  Rome  in  a  Figure  (17) 263 

14.  Dependence  and  Freedom  in  the  Use  of  Proph- 

ecy       265 

15.  The  Fall  of  Rome  in  the  Language  of  Prophecy 

(18) 266 

16.  The  Fall  of  Rome  in  Heavenly  Song  (19  : 1- 

10) 268 

17.  The  Warrior-Messiah 270 

18.  The  Fall  of  Rome  at  the  Hand  of  Christ  (19  : 

n-21) 273 

19.  The  Imprisonment  of  Satan  and  the  Thousand 

Years'  Reign 274 

20.  The  Fall  of  Satan  (20:1-10) 281 

21.  The  Last  Judgment  (20  : 1 1-15) 282 

XX 


Contents 

PAGE 

VI.  Visions  of  the  Blessed  Consummation 

i.  Sources  and  Growth  of  the  Hope  of  the  New 

Jerusalem    . 2§2 

2.  Pictures  of  the  Life  to  Come  (21  :  1-22  :  9)     .     .  288 

VII.  Concluding  Warnings  and  Promises  (22  :  10-21)    .  292 
UNCANONICAL  APOCALYPSES 

I.  Introduction 297 

II.  The  Book  of  Enoch 

1.  Some  Points  about  the  Book 299 

2.  The  Coming  Judgment  and  Rewards  (1-5)    .     .  3°° 

3.  The  Fall  of  the  Angels  and  the  Origin  of  Evil 

(6-16) 3°i 

(1)  The  Sin  and  Punishment  of  the  Angels  (6-1 1)      .  302 

(2)  Enoch's  Mission  to  the  Angels  (12-16) ....  304 

4.  Visions  of  the  Secrets  of  Nature  and  of  the  Fut- 

ure (17-36) 3°5 

(1)  Enoch's  First  Journey  (17-19) 3°5 

(2)  Enoch's  Second  Journey  (20-36) 306 

5.  The  Book  of  Astronomy  (72-82) 3°7 

6.  The  Dream-Visions  (83-90) 3°9 

7.  The  Apocalypse  of  Ten  Weeks  (93,  91  :  12-17)  .  312 

8.  The  Book  of  Woes  and  Consolations  (91  :  i-ii, 

92,  94-104  or  105) 3*3 

9.  Concluding  Sections  (106-108) 3J7 

10.  The  Similitudes  of  Enoch  (37-71) 3l8 

(1)  The  First  Simihtude  (37-44) 32° 

(2)  The  Second  SimiUtude  (45-57) 321 

(3)  The  Third  Similitude  (58-69) 324 

xi.  Significance  of  the  Messianic  Hope  in  the  Simil- 
itudes        326 

xxi 


Contents 

PAGE 

III.  The  Assumption  of  Moses 329 

IV.  The  Secrets  of  Enoch 332 

V.  The  Apocalypse  of  Ezra 

1.  Historical  Situation,  and  Relation  to  the  Apoca- 

lypse of  Baruch     334 

2.  Problems  of  the  Book 337 

3.  The  First  Vision  :  Source  and  End  of  Evil     .     .  341 

4.  The  Second  Vision  :  Further  Questions  and  An- 

swers as  to  Evil  and  its  End 343 

5.  The  Third  Vision  :  The  World  to  Come,  and  the 

Lot  of  Souls  after  Death 344 

6.  The  Fourth  Vision  :  The  Heavenly  Jerusalem    .  348 

7.  The  Fifth  Vision  :  Rome  and  its  Fall     ....  349 

8.  The  Sixth  Vision  :  The  Coming  of  the  Messiah  .  350 

9.  The  Seventh  Vision  :  The  Rewriting  of  the  Sa- 

cred Scriptures 350 

VI.  The  Apocalypse  of  Baruch 351 

VII.  The  Apocalypse  of  Peter 353 

APPENDIX 

Books  of  Reference       „  359 

Index  of  Passages „  367 


xxn 


INTRODUCTION 


INTRODUCTION 


THE   APOCALYPTICAL   BOOKS,    THEIR   NUMBER 
AND    SCOPE 

The  Jewish  apocalypses  are  one  of  the  most  character-  The  period 
istic  products  of  a  distinct  and  important  period  in  the  aiypticaFuter- 
history  of  Judaism,  that  from  about  168  B.  C.  to  about  ioo  at^'eventstS 
A.  D.  The  period  begins  with  the  persecution  by  Antiochus 
IV,  the  successful  resistance  of  Judas  Maccabeus,  and 
the  rise  of  the  independent  Jewish  kingdom  of  the  Macca- 
bees. It  ends  with  the  unsuccessful  revolt  of  Judaism 
against  Rome,  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  and  the  end  of 
the  separate  political  existence  of  the  Jewish  community. 
It  was  the  only  period  during  its  whole  post-exilic  history 
when  Judaism  was  seriously  possessed  by  the  ambition, 
in  part  actually  realized,  of  being  again  an  independent 
nation.  The  apocalypses  may  be  said  to  be  the  most 
important  documents  of  the  revived  national  faith  which 
first  inspired  Judas  and  his  followers  and  created  the  Has- 
monean  kingdom,  and  then  at  last  inspired  the  Zealots 
and  led  to  the  suicidal  attempt  against  Rome.  Between 
these  two  crises  lie  some  great  events  in  Jewish  history, 

3 


l!iiroc!u(ti-Mi  The  Messages  oj  the 

especially  the  fall  of  the  Jewish  kingdom  at  the  hands 
of  Rome  under  Pompey,  63  B.  C,  and  also  a  long  and 
intense  rivalry  of  conflicting  parties,  the  Pharisees  and 
Sadducees.  It  is  from  the  apocalypses  that  we  get  most 
light  on  these  events  and  conditions.  But  more  impor- 
tant still,  this  is  the  period  of  the  rise  of  Christianity,  and 
the  apocalypses  represent  that  side  of  Judaism  with  which 
Christianity  was  at  first  in  closest  relation.  We  cannot, 
of  course,  truly  say  that  the  apocalypses  produced,  first 
the  Jewish  kingdom,  then  the  Christian  religion,  then 
the  fall  of  Jerusalem,  and  so  as  a  consequence  the  purely 
legalistic  type  of  Judaism.  A  great  man,  Judas,  produced 
the  Maccabean  kingdom.  The  supreme  man,  Jesus,  cre- 
ated the  Christian  religion.  The  personal  element  had  a 
great  part  also  in  the  tragedy  that  ended  the  Jewish  state. 
It  is  true,  however,  that  the  apocalypses  are  most  closely 
connected  with  these  events,  and  that  we  need  not  only 
the  events  to  help  us  interpret  the  books,  but  the  books  to 
enable  us  to  understand  the  events,  especially  on  their 
inner  side,  the  ideals  and  motives  and  emotions  that  en- 
tered into  them.  Since  this  can  be  said  of  the  second  of 
these  events,  the  rise  of  Christianity,  as  well  as  of  the  other 
two,  the  study  of  the  apocalypses  is  still  of  vital  and  in- 
tense interest  to  us  of  to-day. 

The  apocalypses  represented  a  revival  of  prophecy. 
They  are  the  latest  type  of  Jewish  prophetic  writing.  The 
revival  of  prophecy  in  Judaism  meant  the  revival  of  na- 

4 


Apocalyptical  Writers  Introduction 

tional  hopes  and  efforts.  When  these  at  last  failed,  Juda-  The  passing 
ism  dropped  its  apocalypses  and  settled  back  into  legalism,  aiypse  from 
But  Christianity  was  a  revival  of  prophecy,  not  indeed  in  Christianity 
a  national,  but  in  an  anti-legal  sense.  Anticipating  the 
fall  of  Jerusalem,  it  looked  forward  to  events  of  a  more 
transcendent  character,  the  coming  again  of  Jesus  as  the 
Messiah-Judge,  the  end  of  this  world  and  the  beginning 
of  the  world  to  come.  The  Jewish  apocalypses,  though 
they  were  national,  contained  this  transcendent  element, 
and  could  be  appropriated  by  Christians  and  could  help 
them  to  express  and  elaborate  and  prove  their  new  hopes 
centring  in  Jesus.  The  important  use  made  of  Daniel, 
apparently  by  Jesus  himself,  and  certainly  by  his  first  fol- 
lowers, is  very  significant.  Many  conceptions  developed 
in  other  Jewish  apocalypses  regarding  the  angel  world,  the 
Messianic  judgment  and  the  future  life,  conceptions  not 
found  or  not  elaborated  in  the  Old  Testament,  are  adopted 
by  New  Testament  writers;  and  the  New  Testament  con- 
tains an  apocalypse  of  its  own,  quite  after  the  Jewish  type. 

It  is  not  strange  therefore  that  the  Jewish  apocalypses 
passed  over  from  Judaism  to  Christianity,  and  the  preser- 
vation of  all  that  we  have,  after  Daniel,  is  due  to  their  use 
by  Christians  and  their  inclusion  in  the  Old  Testament 
scriptures  of  various  Christian  communities. 

They  circulated  at  first  in  Greek  versions  of  the  He- 
brew or  Aramaic  originals.  But  none  of  them  is  found  in 
existing  manuscripts  of  the  Greek  Old  Testament;  hence 

5 


Introduction 


The  Messages  oj  the 


The  loss  of 
the  original 
Hebrew  or 
Aramaic 
texts 


Loss  of 
many  of  the 
books 


of  which  the 
number  was 
great 


we  possess  usually  only  a  translation  from  the  Greek  into 
Ethiopic,  Syriac,  Latin  or  some  other  tongue.  Thus 
we  have  the  Book  of  Enoch  entire  only  in  Ethiopic;  the 
Apocalypse  of  Baruch  in  one  manuscript  of  the  Syriac 
scriptures;  while  the  Apocalypse  of  Ezra  was  so  widely 
circulated  in  Christian  communities  that  we  have  several 
ancient  versions  of  it,  and  because  it  was  in  the  old  Latin 
Bible  it  has  a  place  in  our  English  Apocrypha  (2  Esdras). 

But  a  great  many  Jewish  apocalypses  were  not  received 
into  the  Old  Testament  of  any  Christian  Church,  and  are 
therefore  completely  lost,  name  and  all.  Some  that  were 
current  for  a  while  are  known  to  us  only  by  a  few  cita- 
tions, or  only  by  name.  We  probably  possess  those  that 
the  early  Christians  most  valued,  but  as  historians  we 
should  be  especially  glad  to  have  those  also  which  Chris- 
tians did  not  find  useful,  for  we  are  as  much  interested  in 
the  differences  as  in  the  likenesses  between  Judaism  and 
Christianity. 

One  of  the  last  Jewish  apocalypses  contains  a  legend  of 
Ezra's  rewriting  of  the  Old  Testament  after  its  supposed 
destruction  at  the  Exile.  According  to  this  story  Ezra 
was  inspired  to  dictate  to  his  scribes  ninety-four  books 
in  forty  days,  and  was  commanded  to  publish  twenty- 
four  of  them,  so  that  men  of  all  sorts  could  read  them — 
that  is,  the  Old  Testament  canon — but  to  give  seventy 
to  the  wise,  because  of  the  peculiar  wealth  of  wisdom  which 
they  contained  (2  Esdras  14:  19-48).     The  story,  legen- 

6 


Apocalyptical  Writers  Introduction 

dary  though  it  is,  reveals  both  the  great  number  of  apoc- 
alyptical books  and  also  the  high  valuation  that  certain 
Jews  put  upon  them.  Ezra's  work  was,  indeed,  only  a  re- 
production of  that  of  Moses,  for  he  also,  according  to  the 
story,  published  only  a  part  of  what  God  revealed  to  him, 
and  hid  the  rest,  "the  secrets  of  the  times  and  the  end  of 
the  times"  (2  Esdras  14:  5,  6). 

The  story  suggests  further  the  meaning  of  the  name  by  They  were 
which  the  apocalypses  were  originally  known,  apocrypha,  apocrypha 
secret  books.  They  were  literally  hidden  in  certain  circles 
of  Jews,  esoteric  books,  and  they  had  to  do,  also,  with  se- 
crets of  earth  and  heaven  and  of  the  future.  It  is  in  many 
ways  unfortunate  that  the  title,  Apocrypha,  was  transferred 
to  a  wholly  different  class  of  books  and  given  the  wholly 
different  sense  of  uncanonical.  The  use  of  the  title,  apoc- 
alypse, seems  to  come  from  the  Christian  Apocalypse.1 
Other  current  titles  were,  Vision,  Assumption,  Prophecy. 

Of   the   extant  apocalypses  the   list  with  approximate  Extant 
dates  is  as  follows :  a^cdypses 

1.  Daniel.     167-165  B.  C. 

2.  Enoch. 

(a)  Ethiopic  Book  of  Enoch. 

Ch.  1-36,  72-108,  about  100  B.  C.  and  later. 
Ch.  37-71  "Similitudes,"  probably  not   long 
before  Christ. 

(b)  Slavonic  Secrets  of  Enoch.     Before  70  A.  D. 

1  Rev.  1:1. 


Introduction 


The  Messages  o)  the 


Others 
known 
by  title 


Christian 
apocalypses 


3.  Assumption  of  Moses.     4  B.  C.-io  A.  D. 

4.  Apocalypse  of  Ezra  (2  Esdras  3-14).     90-100  A.  D. 

5.  Apocalypse  of  Baruch.     90-100  A.  D. 

6.  Apocalypse  of  Abraham.    Perhaps  first  century  A.  D. 

7.  Testaments  of  the  Patriarchs.  Probably  first  century 
A.  D. 

A  corresponding  type  of  writing  among  Hellenistic  Jews 
is  found  in  the  Sibylline  Oracles,  composed  after  heathen 
models.  Closely  related  to  the  apocalyptical  books  are 
the  Psalms  of  Solomon,  or  Psalms  of  the  Pharisees, 
64-40  B.  C,  the  Book  of  Jubilees,  probably  before  Christ, 
and  the  Ascension  of  Isaiah  (Jewish  part  probably  the 
Martyrdom  of  Isaiah,  2  :  1-3  :  12  and  5  :  2-14). 

Besides  these  extant  books,  four,  evidently  of  the  same 
sort,  are  known  only  by  a  few  citations  in  Origen  or  earlier 
church   fathers: 

1.  The  Prayer  of  Joseph. 

2.  The  Book  of  Eldad  and  Modad. 

3.  The  Apocalypse  of  Elijah. 

4.  The  Apocalypse  of  Zephaniah. 

In  addition  to  these  we  know  a  few  titles  of  books  that 
may  have  been  of  Jewish  origin:  Pseudepigrapha  of 
Baruch,  Habakkuk,  Ezekiel,  and  Daniel. 

For  the  most  part  Christian  writers  were  content  to 
interpret  and  sometimes  revise  Jewish  apocalypses.  This 
had  the  apologetic  advantage  of  claiming  the  support  of 
ancient  Jewish  patriarchs  and  prophets  for  the  new  faith. 

8 


Apocalyptical  Writers  Introduction 

Much  the  most  significant  Christian  apocalypse  is  of  course 
the  canonical  Book  of  Revelation.  Some,  we  shall  see, 
regard  even  this  as  a  Jewish  apocalypse  in  a  Christian 
revision,  and  no  doubt  it  draws  largely  from  Jewish  tra- 
ditions. The  Apocalypse  of  Peter,  of  which  a  large  frag- 
ment was  published  in  1892,  deserves  second  place,  as  it 
made  strong  claims  for  a  time  to  canonicity,  and  has  had 
a  great  influence  on  later  Christian  ideas  of  heaven  and 
hell.  This  is  as  strongly  Greek  as  Revelation  is  Jewish, 
having  a  close  relation  to  the  Greek  Orphic  literature. 
It  concerns  the  lot  of  souls  after  death,  whereas  Revelation, 
like  the  Jewish  apocalypses,  is  more  concerned  with  the 
course  of  world  history.  A  somewhat  later  book  of  great 
popularity,  which  deserves  to  be  called  an  apocalypse,  is 
the  Shepherd  of  Hermas. 

To  these  may  be  added  the  Christian  parts  of  the  Ascen- 
sion of  Isaiah  (all  except  2:  1-3:  12,  5:  2-14);  Second 
Esdras  1-2,  15-16,  sometimes  cited  as  Fifth  and  Sixth 
Ezra;  and  the  Christian  parts  of  the  Sibylline  Oracles.1 

1  All  these  are  collected  in  German  in  Hennecke's  N eutestamentliche 
Apokryphen.     1904. 


Introduction  The  Messages  oj  the 

II 

THEIR   HISTORICAL   PLACE   AND    SIGNIFICANCE 

Judaism  and  The  first  fully  formed  apocalypse,  and  the  type  of  this 
oppressors  sort  of  writing,  is  the  Book  of  Daniel.  This  book  was  oc- 
casioned, as  we  shall  see  more  fully  further  on,  by  the 
attempt  of  Antiochus  IV  to  root  out  the  Jewish  religion 
and  forcibly  convert  the  Jews  to  the  Greek  religion.  Their 
reaction  against  this  assault,  as  they  regarded  it,  upon 
Jehovah  himself  was  so  vigorous  that  it  carried  them,  un- 
der the  able  leadership  of  Judas  and  his  brothers,  beyond 
their  former  tolerable  condition  of  religious  liberty  under 
foreign  political  rule  to  a  practical  political  independence, 
which  they  kept  for  a  century.  Then  the  Maccabean 
kingdom  fell  to  pieces,  and  Rome  took  direct  possession 
of  the  land  of  the  Jews  (63  B.  C).  Rome  now  took  the 
place,  which  Greece  formerly  held,  of  the  foreign  ruling 
power  that  stood  between  Israel  and  its  destiny  of  world- 
rulership.  We  need  not  here  describe  the  varying  forms 
of  the  Roman  rule,  whether  through  the  Herods  or  through 
the  procurators.  A  growing  protest  of  the  suppressed  na- 
tional spirit  against  the  arrogant  claims  of  Rome  can  be 
heard.  A  crisis  was  narrowly  averted  when  Caligula 
ordered  his  image  set  up  in  the  temple.  The  inevitable 
revolt  finally  came  which  led  to  the  destruction  of  Jeru- 
salem by  Titus  and  the  end  of  all  that  remained  of  national 

10 


Apocalyptical  Writers  Introduction 

existence  for  the  Jews.  The  Jewish  apocalyptical  litera- 
ture begins,  then,  in  Daniel,  as  an  intense  affirmation  of 
faith  in  Israel's  God  against  the  sacrilegious  efforts  of  the 
Greek  king.  It  was  the  product  of  a  crisis  in  which  the 
Jewish  religion  was  itself  at  stake.  It  reached  its  culmi- 
nation and  came  to  an  end  in  connection  with  the  actual 
destruction  of  the  temple  and  the  holy  city  by  Rome.  In 
the  period  intervening  the  varying  fortunes  of  the  religious 
party  form  its  background. 

The  old  religious  party  of  the  Chasidim,  whose  voice  is  The  religious 
heard  in  Daniel,  at  first  welcomed  the  armed  resistance  f^i  parties  in 
of  Judas,  though  they  could  not  regard  it  as  more  than  Judaism 
a  little  help  (Dan.  n :  34  ;  1  Mac.  2:  42).  The  great  help 
was  to  come  from  God.  But  it  is  evident  that  they  did 
not  sympathize  with  the  effort  of  the  Maccabean  brothers 
to  gain  political  independence,  after  religious  toleration 
had  been  restored  (1  Mac.  7:  12  ff.),  and  they  protested 
vehemently  against  the  assumption  of  the  high  priesthood 
by  the  Maccabean  princes.  Out  of  this  separation  grew 
an  intense  antagonism  resulting  sometimes  in  civil  war. 
The  party  of  the  Chasidim  became  the  Pharisees,  the 
"  separatists,"  and  those  whom  they  opposed,  the  ruling 
house  and  its  priestly  supporters,  the  court  party,  became 
known  as  Sadducees.1  So  the  earlier  antagonism  between 
the  religious  and  the  extreme  Hellenizing  party,  whose 
apostasy  culminated  in  the  effort  of  Antiochus,  was  changed 

1  Probably  from  Zadok,  the  founder  of  the  Jerusalem  priesthood. 

II 


Introduction 


The  Messages  oj  the 


heathen 
oppressor  or 
heathen 
influence 


by  the  Maccabean  wars,  which  brought  this  ultra-Hellen- 
ism to  an  end,  into  a  new  form;  but  it  was  still  the  old 
hostility  between  the  religious  and  the  worldly  life  and 
ideals.  The  Pharisees  had  a  more  intense  hatred  of  the 
aristocratic  Sadducees  than  they  had  of  foreign  rulers, 
yet  the  charge  they  brought  against  the  Sadducees  was 
that  of  too  great  friendliness  and  conformity  to  the  heathen 
world. 
Theapoca-  It  would,  then,  depend  on  circumstances  whether  the 
agalnsuhe e  Pharisaic  prophet  was  moved  to  write  visions  against  the 
heathen  oppressor,  or  the  heathen-minded  Jewish  aristoc- 
racy. In  either  case  the  great  theme  of  the  apocalypse  is 
the  nearness  of  the  day  of  Jehovah's  triumph  over  the 
heathen  and  the  vindication  and  glorification  of  his  true 
people.  The  greatest  apocalypses  are  written  directly 
against  the  ruling  heathen  powers :  Daniel  against  the 
Greek -Syrian  kingdom,  Second  Esdras  against  Rome,  and 
the  Book  of  Revelation  also  against  Rome  in  behalf  of  the 
new  Christian  Israel.  These  appeared  at  crises  in  which 
the  religious  community  had  come  into  collision  with  the 
great  world-empire.  Another  such  crisis,  that  brought 
on  by  Caligula's  attempt  to  have  his  image  worshipped  in 
the  temple,  could  well  have  called  forth  apocalyptical 
warnings  and  promises  of  the  same  order.  It  is  in  fact 
quite  possible  that  an  oracle  from  that  time  is  used  in  Rev- 
elation 13.  So  one  from  the  actual  days  of  the  siege  of 
Jerusalem  is  probably  to  be  found  in  Revelation  11.     Pom- 

12 


Apocalyptical  Writers  Introduction 

pey's  conquest  of  Jerusalem  was  the  occasion  of  some  strik- 
ing Messianic  Psalms  from  the  Pharisaic  party,  the  so- 
called  Psalms  of  Solomon,  which  betray  something  of  the 
apocalyptical  spirit,  but  we  have  no  apocalypse  proper  from 
that  epoch.  These  Psalms  assail  not  so  much  Rome, 
though  Pompey's  fate  is  described  as  a  just  judgment, 
as  rather  the  degenerate  Jewish  aristocracy  whose  rule  is 
worse  than  that  of  the  heathen.  It  is  this  party  animus 
which  avails  itself  of  the  apocalyptical  form  in  Enoch  1-36, 
72-105,  and  in  other  apocalypses. 

There  are  some,  however,  who  believe  that  the  party  The  party 
whose  rights  and  hopes  are  affirmed  in  the  apocalypses  Jheapoc- 

is  not  the  Pharisaic  but  the  Essene.  This  raises  an  im-  piypses  be- 
longed 
portant  question,  for  the  Pharisees  early  became  the  recog- 
nized representatives  of  correct  Judaism,  while  the  Essenes 
formed  only  a  small  sect  or  order,  always  isolated  and 
peculiar.  It  is  important  to  know  whether  the  beliefs  and 
hopes  of  the  apocalypses  were  commonly  held  by  the  more 
religious  Jews  of  this  period,  or  were  the  vagaries  of  in- 
significant circles. 

The  final  and  characteristic  work  of  the  Pharisees  was  Final  char- 
the  elaborate  exposition  of  the  law,  of  which  the  Talmud  f^Sm,  legal? 
was  the  outcome.     The  prominent  Pharisaic  scribes  be- "j£tapocalyp" 
fore  the  time  of  Christ,  such  as  Hillel  and  Shammai,  were 
occupied  with  legal  and  moral  questions,  not  with  the 
unseen  world  and  the  future.     We  should  infer  from  the 
Gospels  that  the  Pharisees  were  more  concerned  with  the 

13 


Introduction  The  Messages  oj  the 

law,  and  the  common  people  with  the  national  and  apoca- 
lyptical hopes.  It  is  true  also  that  the  Pharisaic  rabbis 
did  not  in  the  end  care  for  the  apocalypses,  and  that  these 
books  would  have  been  almost  entirely  lost  if  Christians 
had  not  valued  and  kept  them.  Yet  all  this  does  not  jus- 
tify the  opinion  especially  of  Jewish  historians  that  the 
apocalypses  came  from  a  wholly  different  sect,  probably 
the  Essenes,  and  that  the  Pharisees  never  wrote  nor  valued 
The  earlier  them.  Judaism  in  the  century  before  Christ  was  a  much 
isaism,  that"  more  complex  phenomenon  than  it  was  after  the  destruc- 
apocalthses  ^on  °^  Jerusalem>  and  Pharisaism  was  not  always  what 
represented  ft  then  came  to  be.  The  Psalms  of  Solomon  are  the  classic 
product  of  Pharisaism  about  60-40  B.  C,  and  evidently 
then  the  Messianic  hope  was  of  more  vital  interest  to  the 
party  than  details  of  legal  interpretation.  On  the  other 
hand  Daniel  and  its  successors  represent  a  strictly  legal 
piety;  but  when  legal  righteousness  has  to  maintain  itself 
at  a  cost,  and  must  condemn  not  only  the  princes,  but  at 
the  same  time  the  priests,  the  official  representatives  of  its 
own  religion,  it  is  inevitably  inspired  by  something  like 
the  apocalyptical  temper.  When  the  Pharisees  them- 
selves displaced  the  priests,  after  70  A.  D.,  as  the  undisputed 
heads  of  the  Jewish  religion,  this  temper  would  change, 
for  the  apocalypse  is  always  the  protest  of  those  who  are 
weak  and  oppressed  and  whose  faith  demands  a  speedy 
change  in  the  present  intolerable  condition.  Further- 
more the  Pharisees  belonged  at  first  to  the  laity,  but  they 

14 


Apocalyptical  Writers  Introduction 

gradually  became  a  learned  class,  professional  theologians. 
Now  apocalypses  are  adapted  to  the  lay,  not  to  the  pro- 
fessional, mind.  They  are  filled  with  fancies  and  figures 
that  appeal  to  the  uninstructed  imagination  with  its  love 
of  the  fantastic  and  the  mysterious.  They  do  not  appeal 
at  all  to  the  scholastic  mind.  Hence  it  would  not  be 
strange  if  Pharisees  wrote  apocalypses  in  the  years  of 
their  sufferings  and  struggles,  and  disavowed  them  in  the 
time  of  their  power.  The  complexity  of  Judaism  in  the 
earlier  period  is  indicated  by  the  Book  of  Jubilees,  which 
is  chiefly  occupied  with  Pharisaic  legalism,  yet  contains 
many  apocalyptical  features,  and  makes  considerable 
use  of  the  Book  of  Enoch.  In  the  Assumption  of  Moses 
also  we  have  a  blending  of  the  Pharisaic  with  the  priestly 
type  on  the  one  side,  and  on  the  other  a  union  of  strict 
legalism  with  an  eager  expectation  of  the  speedy  coming 
of  God.  This  combination  is  quite  natural  in  the  early 
times  of  Pharisaism,  when  the  observance  of  the  law 
brought,  not  glory,  but  poverty  and  peril. 

It  is  true  nevertheless  that  a  somewhat  impressive  case  The  secret 
can  be  made  out  for  the  position  that  the  apocalypses  are  Essene" 
the  secret  books  of  the  Essenes.  Josephus  tells  us  that 
they  had  and  valued  such  books.  He  says  that  they  derived 
from  the  writings  of  the  ancients  a  knowledge  of  the  heal- 
ing properties  of  plants  and  stones,  and  that  from  the  holy 
books  they  were  able  to  predict  future  events.  We  are  led 
to  suppose  that  their  secret  books  contained  medical  lore 

r5 


Introduction 


The  Messages  of  the 


Essenic  feat- 
ures in  our 
apocalypses 


Arguments 
against  Es- 
senic author- 
ship 


and  magical  formulas  or  other  methods  of  augury  for 
determining  the  future.  Josephus  records  a  number  of 
instances  of  their  successful  predictions,  and,  since  they 
were  known  as  prophets,  their  books  may  well  have  had 
a  prophetic  character.  Josephus  also  gives  us  reason  for 
assuming  that  the  books  would  contain  many  names  of 
angels,  of  magical  value,  and  perhaps  descriptions  of  the 
fortunes  of  souls  after  death. 

Now  the  apocalypses  do  contain  many  names  of  angels, 
much  nature  lore,  especially  astrological,  and  predictions  of 
the  future.  In  some  of  them  can  be  found  speculations 
about  the  future  lot  of  souls.  They  reveal  also  a  some- 
what ascetic  attitude,  a  contempt  of  the  world  and  the 
ideal  of  separation  from  it,  which  Essenism  certainly  rep- 
resented. One  of  the  most  peculiar  marks  of  the  Essenes 
was  their  refusal  to  take  part  in  the  temple  sacrifices.  Our 
apocalypses  contain  some  depreciating  judgments  on  the 
second  temple  and  its  rites,  which  could  be  Essenic  in 
origin  {e.g.,  En.  89  :  50,  73  ;  90 :  28  f.).  Especially  in  the 
Assumption  of  Moses  do  we  find  a  judgment  as  to  the 
temple  and  its  priesthood  which  sounds  Essenic  (chs.  5-7). 

We  can,  then,  easily  understand  the  judgment  of  Well- 
hausen  that  "the  secret  literature  of  the  Essenes  was  per- 
haps in  no  small  degree  made  use  of  in  the  Pseudepigrapha, 
and  has  through  them  been  indirectly  handed  down  to  us." 
Others,  however,  are  still  more  guarded,  and  think  that 
the  apocalyptical  and  the  Essenic  tendencies  could  per- 

16 


Apocalyptical  Writers  Introduction 

fectly  well  be  related  and  parallel,  but  not  identical.  It 
is  quite  possible,  for  example,  that  distrust  of  the  priests 
and  depreciation  of  their  sacrifices,  resting  in  part  on  the 
ancient  prophets,  in  part  on  the  character  and  actions  of 
the  Maccabean  priest-kings,  was  wide-spread  among  the 
Jewish  people.  On  the  whole  the  view  that  our  apoc- 
alypses are  distinctively  Essenic  books  is  not  convincing. 
We  do  not  certainly  know  that  the  Messianic  element, 
which  is  central  in  the  apocalypse,  characterized  the  Es- 
senes  at  all ;  and  on  the  other  hand  certain  foreign  rites  and 
customs  which  most  distinguished  them  have  no  place  in 
the  apocalypses. 

Our  conclusion  may  well  rest  on  the  observation  already  Conclusion  as 
made  that  apocalypses  are  books  of  and  for  the  laity.    Both  apocalypses'3 
learning  and  authority  are  unfavorable  to  the  writing  of  m  Judaism 
such   books :  learning,   because  with  it  ordered  thought 
takes  the  place  of  images  whose  appeal  is  to  the  fancy  and 
to  the  child-nature  in  man  ;  authority,  because  the  apoca- 
lypse looks  for  divine  interventions  and  reversals  which 
those  who  are  already  prosperous  and  powerful  do  not 
expect  or  desire.     Now  at  the  beginning  of  their  existence 
the  Pharisees  had  little  learning  and  no  authority.     The 
priests  were  the  scholars  and  rulers  of  the  Jewish  com- 
munity.    The  Pharisees  led  the  lay  protest  against  the 
indifference  and  corruption  of  the  official  religion,  and 
the  apocalypse  was  one  form  in  which  this  protest  found 
expression.      Afterward,  when  they  became   absorbed  in 

17 


Introduction  The  Messages  oj  the 

legal  learning,  and  when  their  power  in  the  Sanhedrim 
and  among  the  people  increased,  the  apocalyptical  form 
of  writing  and  even  of  belief  would  become  less  congenial 
to  them.  The  rise  of  Christianity  in  close  connection 
with  apocalyptical  hopes  would  increase  their  aversion. 
It  is  true  that  hope  never  ceased  to  be  an  essential  part  of 
the  Jewish  religion.  The  prophetic  promises  must  some- 
time be  fulfilled.  The  subject  people  would  be  freed,  its 
scattered  members  brought  together  from  the  ends  of  the 
earth.  It  would  again  have  its  judges  and  counsellors. 
Jerusalem  would  be  rebuilt  and  God  would  again  dwell 
in  his  city.  The  throne  of  David  would  be  re-established, 
the  temple  sacrifices  renewed,  and  the  time  of  national 
peace  and  glory  would  come.  But  this  is  not  the  apocalyp- 
tical form  of  the  hope,  and  the  rabbis  did  not  hold  it  in 
the  intense,  expectant,  apocalyptical  spirit.  When  Phar- 
isaism fell  back  upon  this  older  and  simpler  form  of  the 
national  hope,  it  would  no  longer  care  for  the  apocalypse. 
We  need  not  then  conclude  that  the  apocalypses  never 
represented  average  popular  and  even  Pharisaic  Judaism. 
We  may  on  the  contrary  fairly  assume  that  they  represent 
an  important  aspect  of  Judaism  during  this  period,  and 
that  the  hopes  and  beliefs  they  express  were  those  of 
many  Jews  of  different  sects,  who  agreed  in  condemnation 
of  the  priestly  and  Sadducean  classes.  Many  Pharisees, 
many  Essenes,  and  many  of  the  common  people  may  have 
agreed  in  this  supernaturalistic  form  of  the  protest  against 


Apocalyptical  Writers  Introduction 

foreign  power  and  influence  without  and  within  the  Jewish 
community. 

Yet  on  the  other  hand  it  would  not  be  right  to  suppose  Representa- 
that  all  Jews  shared  the  views  these  books  present.  There  apwSfyScs 
were  many  to  whom  the  study  and  keeping  of  law  was  far  agnate/*" 
more  important  than  the  study  and  elaboration  of  prophecy. 
There  were  those  who  found  satisfaction  in  the  books  of 
wisdom.  The  contrast  between  the  books  of  James  and 
of  Revelation  in  the  New  Testament,  both  of  which  are 
largely  Jewish  in  character,  suggests  the  contrasts  in  Juda- 
ism; and  it  is  as  important  to  study  books  like  James, 
wisdom  books,  such  as  Ecclesiasticus  and  the  Sayings  of 
the  Fathers,  as  it  is  to  study  books  like  Revelation,  the 
apocalypses,  Enoch,  the  Assumption  of  Moses,  Second 
Esdras  and  the  rest,  if  we  would  understand  the  Judaism 
of  the  time  of  Christ.  These  two  sorts  of  books  could 
not  have  been  written  by  the  same  men  nor  valued  by 
the  same  readers.  The  religion  of  some  Jews  was  apoc- 
alyptical in  character,  that  of  others  was  ethical  and  in- 
tellectual, that  of  still  others  was  legalistic.  The  fact  that 
Christianity  began  very  much  in  an  apocalyptical  spirit, 
with  the  expectation  of  a  world  crisis  near  at  hand,  gives 
to  the  study  of  the  apocalypses  a  peculiar  interest,  but 
should  not  lead  us  to  exaggerate  the  importance  of  this 
element  in  contemporary  Judaism.  Nor  is  it  the  only  ele- 
ment of  which  serious  account  should  be  taken  in  the 
effort  to  explain  the  beginnings  of  Christianity. 

!9 


Introduction 


The  Messages  oj  the 


III 


Close  relation 
of  apoca- 
lypse to  late 
prophecy 


Apocalypse 
as  the  inter- 
pretation of 
unfulfilled 
prophecies 


THE  RELATION  OF  APOCALYPSE  TO  PROPHECY 

The  transition  from  prophecy  to  apocalypse  was  not 
sudden,  and  the  Book  of  Daniel  does  not  create  a  wholly 
new  type  of  literature.  Not  only  do  the  apocalyptical 
writers  make  much  use  of  the  prophetic  books,  but  post- 
exilic  prophecy,  from  Ezekiel  on,  develops  in  the  apoca- 
lyptical direction.  In  order  to  understand  the  apocalypse, 
therefore,  we  must  take  account  both  of  its  dependence  on 
prophecy  and  of  the  tendency  of  late  prophecy  to  assume 
the  apocalyptical  type. 

Some  claim  that  the  nature  of  the  apocalypse  can  be 
wholly  explained  by  saying  that  it  is  an  attempt  to  inter- 
pret the  unfulfilled  predictions  of  the  canonical  prophets. 
There  is  much  truth  in  this,  though  it  is  a  one-sided  view. 
The  Old  Testament  prophecies  contain  two  chief  predic- 
tions, that  of  judgment  upon  Israel  and  that  of  its  resto- 
ration. The  prediction  of  judgment  had  been  fully  realized 
in  the  Exile,  but  the  hope  had  not  been  realized  in  the 
return.  Hence  almost  the  whole  element  of  hope  in  proph- 
ecy was  to  the  mind  of  post-exilic  Judaism  unfulfilled. 
When  and  how  was  the  promised  glory  and  power  of  Israel 
to  come  to  pass  ?  This  was  the  question  which  the  apoca- 
lyptical scribe  tried  to  answer,  and  the  answer  must  accord 
with  prophecy,  and  if  possible  be  derived  from  it.     The 

20 


Apocalyptical  Writers  Introduction 

harder  the  condition  of  the  elect  people  the  nearer  must 
be  the  fulfilment  of  the  divine  promise. 

Of  course  the  fact  that  the  unfulfilled  predictions  of  Old  A  decline 
Testament  prophecy  were  the  chief  source  and  authority  ecyaHts1* * 
of  the  apocalyptical  writers  does  not  mean  that  they  worked  height 
in  the  spirit  of  the  older  prophets.     It  indicates  rather 
that  the  older  spirit  was  lacking,  for  dependence  on  one 
another  and  the  anxious  pondering  of  ancient  oracles  did 
not  characterize  the  early  prophets.     They  spoke  each  in 
his  own  person  with  a  confident  message  of  his  own,  the 
source  and  authority  of  their  message  being  none  but  God 
himself. 

There   is,   however,   a   history  within   Old  Testament  The  transi- 
prophecy  itself,  and  the  way  is  there  largely  prepared  for  ^th  tn?Exile 
the  later  and  lower  type.     The  Exile  is  the  event  which  and  Ezekiel 
marks  the  great  division  between  the  earlier  and  the  later 
types,  and  Ezekiel,  whose  work  spans  that  crisis,  is  the 
prophet  in  whom  marked  apocalyptical  features  first  ap- 
pear.    As  compared  with  earlier  prophets  his  conception 
of  God  is  more  transcendental,  his  vision  of  God  marked 
by  more  sensuous  and  fantastic  imagery,  the  inspiration  of 
the  seer  more  external  and  supernaturalistic.     His  revela- 
tions  come  in   visions  interpreted  by  angels.     His  later 
message  is  less  ethical  and  more  simply  religious,  that  is 
he  does  not  preach  repentance  and  reformation,  but  rests 
his  hope  wholly  upon  God's  direct  deed,  for  his  own  glory 
and  in  his  own  time.     The  hope  does  not  wait  for  man's 

21 


Introduction  The  Messages  oj  the 

righteousness  as  its  condition  but  includes  the  miraculous 
renewal  of  man's  incurably  evil  heart.  The  land  of  Pales- 
tine is  also  miraculously  transformed,  and  the  new  land 
and  city  and  temple  have  little  to  do  with  nature.  A  final, 
vain  assault  by  the  wild  horsemen  of  Gog  from  the  land  of 
Magog  will  fulfil  the  predictions  of  Jeremiah  and  Zepha- 
niah,  and  prove  the  security  of  the  city  in  which  God  him- 
self dwells.  Man  does  not  by  any  effort  or  merit  of  his 
bring  in  the  Messianic  age,  and  man  cannot  by  any  powers 
however  demoniacal,  bring  disaster  upon  it.  One  needs 
only  to  compare  Ezekiel's  hope  with  that  of  the  older 
prophets  who  preached  a  repentance  which  might  come 
before  judgment  and  avert  it,  or  through  the  discipline  of 
judgment,  in  order  to  realize  how  radical  the  difference  is. 
The  transition  toward  apocalypse  is  well  under  way,  and 
we  are  not  surprised  to  find  apocalypses  making  much  use 
of  Ezekiel's  vision  of  God,  of  the  ecstatic  form  of  his  ex- 
perience as  a  prophet,  and  of  many  features  of  his  hope. 
Apocalyptical  All  the  prophetic  literature  that  succeeds  Ezekiel  is  more 
post-exilic  or  less  apocalyptical  in  tendency,  and  there  is  much  more 
prophecy  Qf  ^jg  p0St-exilic  prophecy  in  the  canon  than  was  formerly 
supposed.  The  marks  by  which  it  can  be  distinguished 
from  the  earlier  type  are  such  as  these:  The  predomi- 
nance of  the  Messianic  element,  with  judgment  not  upon 
Israel,  but  upon  the  foreign  nations,  its  enemies  ;  the  ab- 
sence of  direct  contact  with  current  events,  with  this  world 
and  with  things  just  at  hand,  and  the  substitution  of  a  more 

22 


Apocalyptical  Writers  Introduction 

general  and  vague  and  theoretical  background  and  out- 
look ;  a  greater  transcendence  in  the  conception  of  God, 
and  a  growing  interest  in  heaven  as  his  abode  ;  a  tendency 
to  separate  the  Messianic  era  from  this,  and  conceive  of  it 
as  almost  another  world,  with  heavenly,  not  earthly  feat- 
ures ;  a  gradually  increasing  concern  for  the  individual  man 
and  his  future  lot,  and  not  only  for  the  nation. 

Isaiah  40-66  is  the  fullest  and  finest  exposition  of  the  na-  Deutero- 
tional  hope,  and  had  great  influence  in  lifting  this  hope  up 
to  its  new  supernatural  level.  It  was  a  rich  treasure  house 
from  which  Judaism  drew  its  images  of  the  world-age  to 
come.  With  this  belongs  Isaiah  34-35,  where  the  execu- 
tion of  God's  wrath  against  the  nations  and  the  perfect 
blessedness  of  the  future  are  described  in  classic  form. 
Haggai  contributes  the  expectation  of  the  coming  of  theHaggaiand 
wealth  of  the  nations  to  glorify  the  temple.  Zechariah 
(chs.  1-8)  introduces  important  apocalyptical  features. 
He  not  only  contributes  to  the  growing  wealth  of  the  lan- 
guage of  hope  (ch.  8),  but  in  his  dependence  on  older 
prophets,  his  use  of  the  vision  form  of  inspiration,  his  ad- 
vanced angelology,  and  the  place  he  gives  to  Satan,  he 
marks  a  new  stage  in  the  transition  from  prophecy  to  the 
apocalypse.  Most  significant  of  all  is  his  elaborate  use, 
in  a  poetical  way,  of  fantastic  figures,  borrowed  in  part 
from  some  foreign  mythology.1 

1  Note  especially  the  idea  of  the  four  winds  and  the  seven  planets  as  the 
messengers  and  the  eyes  of  God,  picturing  his  omniscience. 

23 


Introduction 


The  Messages  oj  the 


Zechariah 
9-14 


Joel 


Malachi  Malachi  is  not  so  distinctly  an  apocalyptical  prophecy, 

but  adds  the  important  idea  of  the  returning  Elijah,  and 
some  elements  in  the  description  of  the  Day  of  the  Lord, 
which  later  writers  could  not  fail  to  use. 

Zechariah  9-14  furnished  important  materials  for  the 
apocalyptical  writer ;  such  as  the  descriptions  of  the  last 
times  of  distress  that  must  precede  the  Messianic  era,  of 
the  final  assault  of  the  heathen  upon  Jerusalem  and  God's 
intervention  and  universal  kingship. 

Joel  is  strongly  apocalyptical  in  character.     Its  theme 
is  the  coming  Day  of  Jehovah,  and  the  author  both  makes 
free  use  of  older  prophecies,  and  adds  new  features  descri^: 
tive  of  that  day.     The  promise  of  a  general  revival  g 
prophetic  inspiration  in  Israel  (2  :  28-29),  and  the  descrip 
tion  of  the  signs  in  heaven  before  the  day  of  judgment 
(2 :  30-31)  are  the  elements  in  Joel's  picture  most  used  in 
early  Christian  apocalyptical  creations. 

Isaiah  24-27  One  of  the  latest  and  most  apocalyptical  sections  in  the 
prophetic  canon  is  Isaiah  24-27.  Here  we  first  meet  two  of 
the  most  important  conceptions  which  the  apocalypses  de- 
velop. One  is  the  idea  that  the  day  of  Jehovah  will  bring 
destruction  not  only  upon  the  kings  of  earth,  but  upon 
angels  whose  wickedness  and  power  in  some  way  answers 
to  and  explains  that  of  the  earthly  kingdoms  (24:  21-23). 
The  other  is  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  of  the  right- 
eous to  take  part  in  Israel's  glory  (26 :  19;  cf.  14).  Apart 
from  this  passage,  it  is  only  in  the  first  apocalypse,  Daniel, 

24 


Apocalyptical  Writers  Introduction 

that  the  resurrection  is  clearly  affirmed.  There  we  find 
also  the  conception  of  angel  princes  of  the  nations.  The 
use  of  the  chaos  beast  in  Isaiah  27:  i  is  also  similar  to 
that  in  Daniel  7,  and  in  later  apocalypses. 

There  is  another  class  of  oracles  which  especially  pre-  Oracles 
pare  the  way  for  the  apocalypse,  the  oracles  against  foreign  e^nTations 
nations.  Some  of  these  go  back  to  early  prophets,  but 
probably  the  great  majority  of  them  come  from  the  post- 
exilic  period.  Such  are  the  oracles  against  Babylon  in 
Isaiah  13-14,  Jeremiah  50-51,  and  probably  other  oracles 
in  Isaiah  13-23,  and  Jeremiah  46-51,  as  well  as  those  in 
Ezekiel  25-32.  These  denunciations  were  freely  turned 
by  apocalyptical  writers  against  the  oppressive  kingdoms 
of  later  times,  the  Greek  and  the  Roman. 

This  very  brief  survey  will  serve  to  suggest  to  how  great  Dependence 
an  extent  Daniel  and  later  apocalypses  were  the  direct  out-  °yrLe  on°uch 
come  of  the  later  developments  of  prophecy.     The  apoca-  Pr°Phecles 
lyptical  writer  found  here  rich  materials  ready  to  his  hand. 
It  was  the  eschatology  of  the  prophets  that  interested  him 
most ;  not  the  efforts  at  moral  and  social  reform,  but  the 
forecasts  of  the  future  ;  not  the  conversion  of  his  people, 
but  their  deliverance  from  trouble,  and  especially  from 
subjection  to  the  heathen.     He  searched  for  signs  of  the 
last  day,  for  the  mysteries  of  heaven  and  the  angelic  world 
that  might  explain  the  evils  of  the  present  and  give  a  clew 
to  the  time  and  manner  of  the  end  of  evil  and  the  disclosure 
of  God  and  heavenly  blessings.     There  is  hardly  an  im- 

25 


Introduction  The  Messages  oj  the 

portant  idea  in  the  apocalypses  for  which  beginnings  and 
points  of  contact  cannot  be  found  in  older  prophecy. 
The  vision  also,  the  distinctive  form  of  the  apocalypse, 
is  already  the  ruling  form  of  prophecy  in  Ezekiel  and 
Zechariah. 
Yet  the  apoc-  Yet  in  spite  of  all  these  close  points  of  connection,  when 
something  one  turns  from  the  study  of  prophecy  to  Daniel  and  the 
apocalypses  he  feels  that  the  change  is  great,  greater  per- 
haps than  that  involved  in  the  transition  from  pre-exilic  to 
post-exilic  prophecy.  Perhaps  the  feature  that  most  calls 
forth  this  feeling  is  the  pseudonymous  character  of  these 
writings.  The  use  of  fantastic  imagery  too  seems  less  free, 
more  serious  and  literal.  The  dualistic  supernaturalism 
is  more  marked.  The  coming  age  has  nothing  in  com- 
mon with  the  present,  and  the  present  age  has  nothing  good 
in  it,  but  is  wholly  in  the  power  of  evil.  There  is  further- 
more a  universal  scope  in  the  view  of  Daniel,  a  sort  of 
philosophy  of  history,  which  is  new;  and  in  succeeding 
apocalypses  this  semi-scientific  interest  extends  to  nature. 
These  and  other  characteristics  of  the  apocalyptical  books, 
which  set  them  off  as  a  distinct  class,  in  spite  of  their  close 
relationship  to  post-exilic  prophecy,  we  must  now  proceed 
to  consider. 


26 


Apocalyptical  Writers  Introduction 

IV 

PSEUDONYMOUS   AUTHORSHIP 

Post-exilic  prophecy  was  largely  anonymous.  This  Anonymous 
means  that  it  was  only  written,  not  first  spoken,  and  that  prop  ecy 
its  truth  and  effect  did  not  rest  on  the  authority  of  its 
authors;  perhaps  further  that  the  message  was  not  new 
and  did  not  have  to  meet  with  contradiction  and  unbelief. 
One  has  only  to  try  to  conceive  of  Amos  or  Isaiah  as  work- 
ing anonymously  to  realize  how  great  the  difference  was 
between  early  prophecy  and  late.  The  later  could  be 
great  in  its  way.  Isaiah  40-66  is  great  prophetic  litera- 
ture, but  its  author  could  not  have  been  so  great  as  Isaiah 
as  a  prophetic  personality. 

But  if  the  change  to  anonymous  prophecy  was  great,  the  Rise  of  pseu- 
rise  of  pseudonymous  prophecy  marks  a  still  greater  change.  prophecyS 
It  is  hard  for  us  to  conceive  of  one  who  had  a  genuine  faith 
and  a  serious  message  for  his  age  adopting  a  literary  form 
that  was  not  genuine.  Yet  the  writer  of  Daniel  was  cer- 
tainly such  a  man  and  as  certainly  used  such  a  device. 
He  wrote  in  the  age  of  Antiochus,  in  the  name  of  a  seer  of 
the  Exile,  and  gave  in  the  form  of  prediction  a  review  of 
post-exilic  history  with  increasing  detail  up  to  his  own 
time.  Then  on  the  basis  of  many  predictions  already  ful- 
filled he  would  seem  to  claim  the  greater  credence  for  his 
actual  predictions  of  the  fall  of  Antiochus  and  the  speedy 

27 


Introduction  The  Messages  oj  the 

coming  of  the  kingdom  of  God.     All  Jewish  apocalypses 
follow  Daniel  in  this  respect,  usually  assuming  the  names 
of  still  more  ancient  men  of  God,  and  relating  history, 
in  general  behind  the  veil  of  symbol  or  allegory,  as  if  it 
had  been  seen  in  vision  ages  before. 
Difficulty  of       It  is  by  no  means  easy  to  decide  just  how  this  regular  form 
character  of   of  apocalyptical  composition  is  to  be  judged.     It  would  be 
mousHtera-"   quite  unfair  to  condemn  it  simply  by  our  modern  standards, 
ture  The  Book  of  Daniel  does  not  mark  the  beginning  of  pseud- 

epigraphic  literature  among  the  Israelites,  for  Deuteronomy 
and  Ecclesiastes  contain  this  element.  It  is  not  hard  for  us 
to  see  how  later  formulations  of  law  could  be  ascribed  to  the 
original  law-giver,  and  later  proverbial  writing  to  the  typi- 
cal wise  man.  The  pseudonymous  character  of  Ecclesi- 
astes and  the  Wisdom  of  Solomon  is  nothing  more  than  a 
literary  mode.  But  this  can  hardly  be  said  of  the  apoca- 
lypses, for  here  the  value  of  the  contents  seems  to  depend 
on  the  authority  of  the  assumed  seer,  and  the  truth  of  the 
actual  predictions  on  the  confirmation  by  history  of  the 
predictions  ascribed  to  him.  The  pseudonymity  is  care- 
fully carried  out.  The  books  are  meant  to  be  received  as 
really  written  by  the  assumed  authors.  The  fact  that 
though  written  so  long  ago  they  have  remained  unknown 
till  now  is  explained  by  the  command  which  the  seer  re- 
ceived to  seal  his  book  or  hide  it  until  the  last  times.  It 
was  written  for  the  generation  that  was  to  see  the  end ; 
hence  it  is  only  now  found  or  made  public  because  the  end 

28 


Apocalyptical  Writers  Introduction 

is  near.1  Yet  if  we  are  to  claim  any  greatness  for  this  liter- 
ature after  the  veil  has  been  torn  from  its  face  we  must  find 
some  excuse  or  explanation  for  its  use  of  the  veil.  It  is 
certain  that  a  fair  reading  of  Daniel,  of  parts  of  Enoch,  of 
the  Assumption  of  Moses,  and  the  Apocalypse  of  Ezra,  in 
the  light  of  their  circumstances  and  their  aims,  gives  us 
the  impression  that  we  are  dealing  not  with  pretenders, 
but  with  writers  of  earnestness  and  sincerity.  How  then, 
can  we  explain  the  falsity  of  the  form  in  which  their  mes- 
sage is  given  ? 

Can  we  say  that  the  device  was  generally  understood  Was  no  de- 
and  so  involved  no  deception  ?     This  may  have  been  true  tended?"1" 
in  the  inner  circles,  but  the  genuineness  of  the  books  seems 
to  have  been  generally  accepted,  as  that  of  Enoch  is  by 
the  writer  of  Jude ;  and  the  influence  of  the  books  seems 
in  part  to  have  depended  on  their  assumed  age. 

Can  we  suppose  that  the  form  was  adopted  in  self -de-  Wasdecep- 
fence,  because  of  the  hostility  to  foreign  or  native  rulers  for^ety?^ 
which  the  books  express?     This  may  explain  the  figura- 
tive allusions  to  current  events,  but  as  to  authorship  the 
anonymous  form  would   have  served  the  end  of  safety 
equally  well. 

A  more  important  suggestion  is  that  the  canon  was  closed,  Did  theclos- 
at  least  the  canon  of  law  and  prophecy,  that  prophetic  S^on  area- 
inspiration   was   believed   to  have  ceased  with  Malachi,sionit? 

1  See  Dan.  12:4,9;  8  :  26  ;  Enoch  1:2;  93  :  10  ;   104  :  I2f  ;  82  : 1 ;  Ass. 
Mos.  1  :  16-18  ;  2  Esdr.  14  :  8,  44-47. 

29 


Introduction  The  Messages  oj  the 

so  that  no  one  could  gain  a  hearing  for  a  prophetic  message 
unless  it  were  put  in  the  mouth  of  a  man  of  the  earlier  age. 
A  somewhat  related  supposition  is  that  the  apocalypses 
came  from  laymen,  without  reputation  or  standing,  who 
felt  that  they  could  gain  attention  only  under  cover  of  a 
great  name.  Such  considerations  would  seem  to  explain 
rather  than  excuse  the  device. 
Use  of  really  In  another  direction  we  can  perhaps  go  further  in  the 
ditions  way  of  apology.    We  certainly  feel  that  the  writers  of  Dan- 

iel, and  Enoch  92-104,  and  Second  Esdras,  not  only  wanted 
their  readers  to  believe  their  revelations,  but  believed  them 
themselves.  How  can  we  explain  their  own  conviction 
of  the  truth  of  their  predictions  ?  Two  explanations  have 
been  suggested.  One,  that  actual  visions  entered  into 
the  writers'  experience  and  furnished  a  part  of  their  ma- 
terial. The  other,  that  really  ancient  traditions  supplied 
much  of  the  material,  and  that  these  had  been  already  as- 
sociated with  the  names  of  Enoch,  Noah,  and  the  rest. 
We  shall  consider  the  question  of  the  nature  of  the  visions 
described  in  apocalypses  in  the  next  chapter.  The  sec- 
ond suggestion  bears  directly  on  the  question  before  us. 
We  should  have  an  explanation  of  the  pseudonymous  form 
of  apocalypses,  which  would  be  also  in  part  an  apology  for 
it,  if  we  supposed  that  apocalyptical  traditions  running 
actually  far  back,  tended  to  connect  themselves,  in  the 
course  of  their  transmission,  with  the  names  of  certain 
ancient  seers — Enoch,  who  walked  with  the  Elohim,  Noah, 

30 


Apocalyptical  Writers  Introduction 

who  was  rescued  from  the  first  world  judgment,  Abraham, 
the  friend  of  God,  Moses,  who  saw  God  face  to  face.  Then 
the  final  writer,  fully  aware  that  he  was  not  the  original 
author  of  his  material,  but  only  its  scribe  and  interpreter, 
might  believe  that  the  real  author  was  in  a  true  sense  the 
one  in  whose  name  the  traditions  passed  current.  It  would 
be  easier  to  conceive  of  such  a  state  of  mind  if  we  supposed 
the  writing  to  be  done  in  a  condition  of  mental  excitement 
or  exaltation,  when  one  might  regard  his  own  free  imagina- 
tions as  in  a  spiritual  sense  true  to  the  mind  of  the  ancient 
seer  and  intended  by  him. 

How  far  such  explanations  may  apply  we  can  only  tell  Pseudonym- 
by  a  detailed  study  of  these  books.  Even  if  we  can  ac- aJydevke*" 
count  for  the  beginning  and  for  the  highest  levels  of  apoca- 
lyptical writing  in  such  ways,  it  is  evident  that  pseudonym- 
ity  became  a  mere  literary  device  in  the  hands  of  many. 
It  cannot  be  denied  that  whatever  its  psychological  ex- 
planation pseudepigraphic  prophecy  marks  a  still  further 
and  a  very  great  decline  from  the  original  heights  on  which 
the  great  prophets,  Amos,  Hosea,  Isaiah,  Jeremiah  and 
others  stood,  where  the  man's  personality  was  the  factor  of 
greatest  worth.  The  sense  of  direct  inspiration  and  of  an 
immediate  message  from  God  which  these  men  had  is 
almost  wholly  absent  from  the  later  representatives  of  the 
prophetic  order  whose  work  we  are  considering. 

On  the  other  hand  there  is  something  to  be  admired  in 
that  anonymous  form  of  prophecy  which  intervened  be- 

3i 


Introduction  The  Messages  oj  the 

Peculiarity  of  tween  the  first  and  last  types  and  in  a  sense  mediated  be- 
writerTseen  tween  them.  That  one  should  write  such  literature  as 
authorshi10118  Isaiah  4°-66  without  an  allusion  to  himself  or  a  care  to  be 
remembered  as  its  author ;  that  not  only  law-givers  and 
historians  but  writers  on  ethics,  story-tellers,  and  even 
such  supreme  religious  poets  as  the  authors  of  the  Psalms 
and  of  Job,  should  be  content  to  be  unknown,  reveals  a 
degree  of  absorption  in  the  subject-matter,  a  measure  of 
unconsciousness,  a  loss  of  self  in  the  community  and  its 
ideals,  in  God  and  his  truth,  which  we  can  hardly  imagine. 
The  secret  of  the  unique  greatness,  especially  the  genuine- 
ness and  reality,  of  Israelitish  literature  lies  in  part  in  this 
suppression  of  the  individual.  If  one  compares  Hebrew 
with  Greek  literature  he  will  realize  this  peculiarity  of  the 
Hebrew  and  its  greatness.  The  Greeks  had  like  ourselves 
a  pride  of  authorship  which  made  them  jealous  of  their 
literary  rights  and  ambitious  for  fame.  In  such  an  atmos- 
phere plagiarism  is  a  natural  temptation  and  of  course  a 
recognized  moral  fault.  But  Hebrew  historians  and  poets 
incorporated  the  work  of  predecessors  freely  because  no  one 
made  any  claim  for  himself.  All  belonged  to  the  nation. 
Each  might  use  what  he  would  and  add  what  he  could, 
Its  bearing  without  a  thought  of  deception  or  unfairness.  Now  this 
tion  ol  pseu-  community  of  authorship  which  appears  in  the  anonymous 
donymous  character  of  most  of  the  Old  Testament  literature,  and 
results  in  that  free  editing  and  re-editing  of  older  docu- 
ments which  literary  criticism  discovers,  helps  us  to  under- 

32 


Apocalyptical  Writers  Introduction 

stand  the  pseudonymous  form  of  the  apocalypses.  It  re- 
mains true  that  the  greater  prophets  spoke  in  their  own 
persons.  Their  self-assertion  was,  however,  only  a  higher 
form  of  the  conquest  of  self,  because  it  was  an  assertion 
of  God  and  of  the  ideal  over  against  popular  ideas  and 
wishes,  involving  personal  danger  and  loss.  Their  isola- 
tion and  the  strangeness  of  their  message  forced  them  into 
prominence.  Their  voice  was  not  that  of  the  nation  ;  it 
was  the  voice  of  God  against  the  nation.  Their  success 
rested  on  the  originality  of  their  inspiration  and  ultimately 
on  the  force  of  their  personalities.  But  post-exilic  proph- 
ecy did  not  in  the  same  way  oppose  common  beliefs.  It 
sought  rather  to  add  assurance  to  the  hopes  by  which  the 
Jewish  religion  lived.  A  step  further  was  taken  by  the 
scribes  who  compiled  the  prophetic  canon.  They  seem  to 
have  regarded  it  as  part  of  their  task  to  assign  anonymous 
oracles  to  the  various  known  prophets.1  Perhaps  this  re- 
veals a  growing  feeling  that  prophecy  rests  for  its  authenti- 
cation upon  the  known  character  of  its  author  as  a  man  of 
God.  These  scribes  seem  to  have  done  some  more  positive 
editing  also.  The  adaptation  of  the  ancient  prophecies  to 
the  religious  needs  of  their  own  time  may  have  led  them 
not  only  to  rearrangements,  but  also  to  comments  ;  so  that 
to  a  certain  degree  a  pseudonymous  element,  which  is 
closely  related  to  that  community  of  authorship  which  we 

1  For  example,  they  inserted  chs.  13-14,  24-27,  40-66  in  the  Book  of  Isaiah, 
chs.  9-14  in  Zechariah,  etc. 

33 


Introduction  The  Messages  oj  the 

have  described,  is  to  be  found  in  the  prophetic  canon.  So 
when  a  critical  occasion  called  forth  a  new  prophet,  whose 
task  was  not  to  give  a  new  message  but  to  give  the  old  faith 
and  hope  new  expression  and  to  interpret  new  events  in 
the  light  of  old  predictions,  it  would  be  not  at  all  unnatu- 
ral, and  may  have  seemed  necessary  and  not  really  untrue, 
to  assume  an  ancient  name.  In  a  sense  the  new  book  was 
really  old,  and  in  no  sense  did  the  deception  serve  the 
writer's  selfish  ends.  He  remained  unknown  and  it  was 
wholly  the  common  cause  to  which  he  was  devoted. 


THE   APOCALYPTICAL   VISION 

Place  of  the  After  the  pseudonymous  form,  that  which  impresses  us 
^prophecy"  as  most  characteristic  of  apocalypses  is  that  they  consist 
wholly  of  visions,  and  that  elaborate  and  fantastic  imagery 
largely  makes  up  the  material  of  the  visions.  We  find 
visions  indeed  in  the  books  of  the  older  prophets,  but  their 
prevailing  mode  was  a  direct,  ''thus  saith  Jehovah."  The 
visions  of  Amos  (chs.  7-9)  are  hardly  more  than  vivid  fig- 
ures. Only  the  last  one  (9  :  1)  reveals  emotional  excite- 
ment, and  even  there  we  need  not  suppose  an  actual  con- 
dition of  trance.  Hosea  gives  no  hint  of  such  experiences. 
Isaiah  on  the  other  hand  had  a  great  vision  of  God  (ch.  6), 
and  elsewhere  reveals  the  fact  that  his  inspirations  some- 

34 


Apocalyptical  Writers  Introduction 

times  came  upon  him  as  it  were  from  without.1  Yet 
Isaiah's  message  is  usually  given  in  the  direct  form,  and 
appeals  to  reason  and  conscience  rather  than  to  imagi- 
nation and  the  love  of  mystery.  Jeremiah  was  less  a 
man  of  vision  than  Isaiah,  though  he  had  intense  emo- 
tional experiences.  In  prayer  rather  than  vision  his 
highest  insights  were  gained. 

It  is  not  until  we  come  to  Ezekiel  that  we  find  the  vision  Its  primary 
assuming  primary  importance.  The  spirit  works  upon  ™ ^jUkid6 
him  as  an  external  force,  even  carrying  him  from  place  to 
place.  Trance  experiences  are  frequently  described.  The 
vision  of  God  at  the  beginning  and  afterward,  and  the 
words  of  angels  in  connection  with  visions  are  the  founda- 
tion and  substance  of  his  message.  It  is  especially  signifi- 
cant that  his  description  of  the  future  in  chapters  40-48, 
though  largely  legal  in  contents,  is  in  form  a  vision  seen  in 
an  ecstatic  state  and  interpreted  by  an  angel.  This  sec- 
tion is,  as  Wellhausen  remarks,  essentially  an  apocalypse. 

In  Isaiah  40-66  prophecy  takes  a  poetical  form,  more 
related  to  the  Psalms  than  to  the  apocalypses.     Zechariah,  in  Zechariah 
on  the  other  hand,  carries  still  further  the  tendency  of 
Ezekiel  to  make  vision  the  proper  form  of  prophecy,  and 
strange  imagery  the  proper  contents  of  the  vision. 

In  the  apocalypses,  vision  becomes  the  one  mode  of 
revelation,  and  the  supernatural  character  and  objective 
reality  of  the  vision  are  insisted  upon  as  if  on  this  the  truth 

1  8  :  11  ff. ;  22  :  14 ;  cf.  28  :  9-13. 

35 


Introduction 


The  Messages  oj  the 


In  apoca- 
lypses vision 
is  the  sole 
method  of 
revelation 


Material  of 
apocalyptical 
visions,  alle- 
gory and  tra- 
dition 


of  the  message  depended.  The  writer's  claim  is  that  he 
has  actually  seen  what  is  hidden  from  the  eyes  of  common 
mortals.  He  has  been  rapt  to  heaven  and  describes  what 
he  saw  and  heard  there.  On  the  reality  of  his  translation 
depends  the  credibility  of  his  account  of  unseen  things- 
Perhaps  it  is  correct  to  say  that  the  visions  of  older  prophets 
were  chiefly  emotional  experiences,  while  in  the  apocalypses 
their  significance  lies  in  the  intellectual  sphere.  They  be- 
come the  means,  the  only  means,  by  which  man  can  obtain 
a  knowledge  of  the  secrets  of  heaven  and  of  the  future. 
The  symbolic  language  in  which  alone  visions  can  be  de- 
scribed ceases  to  have  the  value  of  poetry,  and  is  taken  in  a 
more  literal  sense.  The  more  unearthly  and  mysterious 
the  symbolic  creations  are,  the  better  adapted  to  describe 
divine  things. 

How  can  we  test  the  reality  and  determine  the  value  of 
these  visions?  First  of  all  by  studying  the  nature  of  the 
material  which  the  visions  contain.  Modern  scholars  have 
found  two  elements  in  the  apocalyptical  imagery,  allegory 
and  tradition.  It  is  certain  that  in  many  cases  the  apoca- 
lyptical writer  has  freely  constructed  allegorical  figures  to 
represent  historical  persons  and  events,  and  to  cast  a  veil  of 
mystery  about  familiar  facts.  The  ram  and  goat  in  Daniel 
8  are  transparent  figures  picturing  the  conquest  of  Persia 
by  Greece,  and  the  interpretation  which  follows  is  hardly 
needed.  Enoch  85-90  is  a  poor  allegory  of  the  history  of 
Israel.     No  real  vision  entered  into  its  production  but  only 

36 


Apocalyptical  Writers  Introduction 

a  clumsy  literary  fancy.     Of  the  same  sort  is  the  symbol 
of  Rome  in  Second  Esdras  11-12. 

Often,  however,  tradition  furnished  the  writer  with  his 
figures,  and  he  only  reshaped  or  interpreted  them  to  fit  his 
own  time.  So  the  beasts  of  Daniel  7  go  back  to  the  Baby- 
lonian chaos  dragon,  used  also  in  Revelation  12,  13,  17. 
In  each  case  the  traditional  figure  is  adapted  to  a  present 
situation.  Did  the  apocalyptical  writer  really  believe 
that  the  ancient  figure  contained  the  mystery  he  would 
solve,  and  revealed  the  solution  to  one  who  studied  it  with 
reverence  and  received  divine  enlightenment,  or  did  he 
use  it  in  a  literary  spirit,  because  of  its  poetic  value,  or 
because  of  his  own  poverty  of  invention?  Did  he  really 
try  to  interpret  the  history  of  his  times  by  these  traditional 
figures,  or  did  he  only  use  the  ancient  imagery  for  the  de- 
scription of  current  history?  And  what  right  had  he  in 
either  case  to  say  that  his  procedure  was  a  vision? 

Another  way  of  approaching  the  question  is  to  inquire  Actuality  of 
after  the  real  nature  of  visions  in  religious  history  in  general,    e  vlslon 
and  then  ask  whether  the  visions  of  our  apocalypses  have 
the  marks  of  reality.     That  vision  may  be  a  real  experience 
psychologists  do  not  now  doubt.     But  there  are  two  im- 
portant reservations  in  this  recognition  of  the  actuality  of 
visionary  experiences.     One  is  that  not  all  real  visions  are 
of  equal  value,  and  the  other  that  not  all  reported  visions 
are  real. 
As  to  the  first  point,  the  mere  experience  of  a  seeing  of 

37 


Introduction  The  Messages  of  the 

Actual  that  which  is  not  present  to  the  physical  eye,  the  capacity 

tovalue  1  er or  tendency  to  visualize  one's  thoughts,  has  in  itself  no 
bearing  on  the  truth  and  value  of  one's  thoughts.  Nor 
can  we  ascribe  value  to  susceptibility  to  emotional  excite- 
ment, which  may  carry  one  to  the  point  of  a  total  loss  of 
self-control  or  even  of  self-consciousness.  The  value  of 
such  ecstatic  states  depends  on  the  nature  of  the  feelings 
that  are  given  such  unrestrained  possession.  If  they  are 
noble  feelings  such  as  devotion  to  one's  country,  enthu- 
siasm for  a  righteous  cause  or  for  a  great  man,  their  mo- 
mentary intensification  may  be  only  good.  The  test  of 
the  value  of  such  experiences  is  not  their  reality,  but  their 
source  and  their  issue  in  character  and  in  action.  Such 
visionary  or  ecstatic  experiences  cannot  be  said  to  bring 
new  knowledge  or  involve  anything  that  can  be  called 
revelation. 
The  higher  There  is  a  higher  type  of  vision  which  may  be  described  as 
vision  insight  or  illumination  gained  in  a  state  of  intense  thought, 

in  which  the  consciousness  of  self  may  be  wholly  lost,  and 
truth  itself,  God  himself,  seems  to  touch  the  soul  and  take 
possession  of  it.  This  intuition  or  spiritual  insight,  which 
comes  after  long  mental  struggle,  and  yet  comes  as  if  it 
were  the  end  of  struggle,  not  its  victorious  consummation, 
as  a  gift  of  immediate  perception  taking  the  place  of  rea- 
soning, is  the  highest  type  of  vision,  that  of  the  prophet, 
that  of  the  man  of  genius.  Here  reason  must  still  test 
the  vision  and  judge  it  by  its  newness  and  by  the  value  and 

38 


Apocalyptical  Writers  Introduction 

power  of  the  truth  it  gains.  When  it  endures  such  tests 
we  have  the  best  right  to  ascribe  this  experience  to  the 
divine  spirit  and  call  it  revelation.  Into  these  supreme 
experiences,  actual  vision,  that  is  the  visualizing  of  thoughts, 
may  not  enter  at  all.  Yet  sense  images  must  enter  into 
their  expression,  because  the  deeper  experiences  of  the  soul, 
its  most  intimate  communings  with  the  eternal,  are  not  to 
be  uttered  in  literal  speech.  Vision  then  may  mean  hal- 
lucination, the  subjective  seeing  of  things  not  actually  pres- 
ent, or  it  may  mean  an  emotional  and*  spiritual  experience 
on  the  highest  plane.  Many  intermediate  and  mixed  types 
exist.  Isaiah's  vision  of  God  (ch.  6)  may  have  been  ex- 
perienced as  an  actual  sight  of  God's  cloudy  garment  fill- 
ing the  temple,  and  of  the  fiery  beings  that  surrounded 
him,  but  its  inner  content  was  a  revelation  of  the  holiness 
of  God  as  a  power  that  makes  holy  him  who  beholds  it  in 
humility,  and  that  summons  to  its  service  him  who  wills 
to  subject  himself  to  its  rule.  But  how  can  the  apocalypti- 
cal visions  endure  measurement  by  the  standard  of  Isaiah's? 

Before  answering  the  question  we  must  consider  the  Recorded 
other  reservation  which  the  modern  student  makes  in  his  not  an  real 
recognition  of  vision  or  ecstasy  as  an  actual  experience. 
Not  only  are  not  all  real  visions  of  equal  value,  but  not  all 
recorded  visions  are  real.  When  the  vision  was  regarded 
as  the  only  proper  contents  of  prophetic  literature,  it  was 
inevitable  that  it  should  be  adopted  by  many  as  a  mere 
literary  form.     This  is  all  the  easier  because  true  visions 

59 


Introduction  The  Messages  oj  the 

cannot  be  described  without  much  freedom  of  elaboration. 
In  proportion  to  the  intensity  and  elevation  of  the  ex- 
perience, they  are  incapable  of  literal  description.  It  is 
very  hard  to  determine  even  in  the  case  of  Ezekiel  how  far 
actual  trance  or  visionary  experiences  are  to  be  assumed. 
The  fact  that  the  material  of  a  vision  is  derived  from  the 
Old  Testament  or  from  tradition  does  not  in  itself  prove 
that  the  vision  is  a  mere  literary  artifice,  for  in  true  vision, 
when  self-consciousness  is  lost,  the  mind  operates  with 
materials  already  in  its  possession,  the  inner  eye  sees  in 
some  transfigured  form  and  with  a  mysterious  significance 
things  actually  before  the  physical  eye,  or  figures  stored  up 
in  memory.  Old  Testament  and  other  ancient  prophetic 
images  would  be  the  very  ones  most  likely  to  come  in  the 
ecstatic  state  before  the  mind  of  those  who  had  long 
pondered  their  meaning. 

If  indeed  visions  were  real  in  a  more  objective  sense,  so 
that  the  seers  literally  saw  the  heavenly  abode  of  God, 
the  angels,  God  himself,  and  literally  heard  divine  voices 
announcing  the  future,  we  should  expect  their  accounts 
to  differ  in  form  but  to  agree  in  substance,  like  the  reports 
of  independent  travellers  in  some  distant  land.  This  sup- 
position is  however  excluded  both  by  the  character  of  the 
visions  and  by  the  nature  of  the  case,  since  God  is  spirit, 
and  the  higher  realm  of  reality  is  not  only  unseen  by  man 
but  is  in  its  nature  invisible. 

The  visions  described  in  the  apocalypses  are  beyond 

40 


Apocalyptical  Writers  Introduction 

doubt  in  the  majority  of  cases  not  real  visions  at  all,  but  Real  and  un- 
literary  fictions.   Yet  in  some  cases  it  is  quite  possible  that  theapocaiyp^ 
actual  trance  experiences  are  described.     We  are  begin- ses 
ning  to  understand  the  power  of  suggestion  and  expecta- 
tion over  the  human  mind.     It  would  not  be  strange  if 
members  of  a  circle  of  writers  who  valued  ecstatic  states 
above  everything  else,  and  regarded  them  as  the  only  proper 
form  of  prophetic  inspiration,  should  strive  by  all  known 
means,  by  fasting  and  meditation  and  solitude,  to  gain  such 
experiences,  and  should  sometimes  succeed.     So  we  may 
agree  with  Gunkel  that  the  first  three  or  four  visions  in 
Second  Esdras  x  may  have  been  truly  visionary  experiences. 
The  same  impression  of  reality  is  made  in  the  Book  of 
Daniel.2 

In  view  of  the  true  nature  of  such  mental  conditions,  Signi6cance 
however,  the  most  important  thing  is  to  recognize  the  sec-  tLn^sto63" 
ondary  significance  of  the  question  as  to  their  reality.    The  H^Z  oruu" 
difference  between  true  vision  and  the  merely  literary  use  of 
the  vision  form  is  not  the  difference  between  revelation  and 
deception.     The  true  vision  might  be  valueless,  a  mere  hal- 
lucination, or  an  irrational  and  unmoral  excitement,  and  on 
the  other  hand  a  serious  message,  deeply  felt  and  urgently 
enforced,  might — such  is  the  difference  between  that  age 
and  our  own — choose  the  apocalyptical  form  for  its  ex- 
pression.    Our  estimate  of  the  value  of  an  apocalyptical 

1  See  2  Esd.  3:1-3;  5  :  14-15.  20-22  ;  6  :  35~37  '»  9  :  23-28. 

2  7  :28  •,  8  :  15-19,  27  ;  10  :  2-11,  15-19. 

41 


Introduction  The  Messages  oj  the 

True  tests  of  vision  must  therefore  turn  not  on  the  question  whether  it 
an\poca-°f  describes  an  actual  experience,  but  on  the  question  whether 
lypse  it  expresses   a  genuine   religious   faith,  and   conveys   an 

important  and  worthy  religious  truth.  Furthermore  the 
worth  of  the  message  is  to  be  measured  not  by  the  truth 
of  the  predictions  it  contains,  as  tested  by  events,  nor  by  the 
objective  accuracy  of  its  descriptions  of  the  unseen  world, 
as  tested  by  our  geology  and  astronomy,  but  by  the  under- 
lying faith  it  expresses  and  the  duty  it  enforces.  And 
again  the  faith  and  the  duty  are  to  be  measured  by  the  needs 
and  dangers  of  their  age,  not  of  ours.  We  are  most  con- 
cerned, in  other  words,  not  with  the  supernaturalism  of 
the  form,  but  with  the  religious  and  ethical  contents  of 
the  apocalypse,  and  the  value  of  its  message  for  its  time ; 
although  if  we  regard  the  spirit,  not  the  letter,  we  shall 
find  that  no  writing  that  has  a  true  and  important  message 
for  its  own  time  is  without  a  message  for  ours  as  well.  We 
must  vividly  realize  the  situation  of  the  Jews  in  Exile  if 
we  would  appreciate  Ezekiel.  The  high  worth  of  Daniel 
can  be  felt  only  as  we  transport  ourselves  sympathetically 
into  the  next  most  critical  moment  in  the  history  of  the  Jews, 
that  of  the  assault  of  the  Greek  king  upon  their  faith. 
Enoch  and  the  Assumption  of  Moses  can  be  understood 
only  in  the  light  of  the  peril  which  true  religion  met  in  the 
worldly  success  and  ambition  of  the  priestly  class.  The 
Book  of  Revelation  can  be  appreciated  only  in  view  of  the 
imminent  danger  of  a  decline  of  Christian  morals  and  faith 

42 


Apocalyptical  Writers  Introduction 

into  heathenism  which  befell  the  church  in  Asia  Minor, 
and  had  its  source  and  strength  in  Rome  and  in  the  en- 
forcement of  emperor  worship.  The  Apocalypses  of  Ezra 
and  Baruch  must  be  set  against  the  background  of  the 
perplexities  and  despair  that  threatened  Jewish  faith  after 
the  destruction  of  Jerusalem.  It  is  from  this  historical 
point  of  view  that  we  are  to  approach  the  apocalypses,  and 
as  historians  we  can  leave  the  question  of  the  degree  of 
actuality  in  the  visions  largely  to  the  psychologist. 

We  must  accept  the  undoubted  fact  that  a  shallow  and 
insincere  person  could  have  genuine  visions,  and  that  an 
earnest  and  honest  writer  could  in  that  age  cast  his  message 
into  the  form  of  vision.  We  may  go  further  and  say  that  the 
one  divine  Spirit  may  operate  in  the  human  spirit  some- 
times as  if  it  were  a  force  from  without,  sometimes  through 
the  normal  processes  of  the  mind  ;  that  true  revelations  may 
come  in  the  form  of  sensible  symbols  that  appear  to  be 
literally  seen,  or  of  voices  that  are  to  the  man's  conscious- 
ness actually  heard,  or  of  insights  that  flash  upon  the  soul 
in  a  state  of  such  exaltation  and  absorption  and  apparent 
passivity  that  he  cannot  afterwards  tell  whether  he  was 
in  the  body  or  out  of  the  body  ;  and  that  on  the  other  hand 
a  man  of  different  temperament,  or  even  the  same  man 
under  different  conditions,  may  receive  revelations  in  in- 
separable connection  with  his  most  conscious  and  strenu- 
ous moral  and  intellectual  efforts. 


43 


Introduction  The  Messages  oj  the 

VI 

THE   LITERARY    COMPOSITION   OF   APOCALYPSES 

Use  of  older  There  are  two  aspects  of  the  composition  of  apocalypti- 
cal books  which  the  reader  should  understand  and  bear 
in  mind.  In  the  first  place  these  writers  often  incorporated 
ancient  oracles  with  but  little  change;  and  in  the  second 
place  their  books  often  underwent  much  revision  after 
their  first  publication. 

Old  Testament  prophecy  and  apocalyptical  traditions 

were  the  storehouse    from  which  the  apocalypses   drew 

freely  and  largely.     It  was  more  to  their  purpose  to  show 

that  ancient  figures  contained  forecasts  of  present  events, 

than  to  invent  new  figures.     To  interpret  the  present  crisis 

in  the  light  of  former  predictions  was  one  of  their  chief 

tasks.     They  were  more  concerned  to  prove  that  the  Day 

of  Jehovah  was  near  at  hand,  than  to  promulgate  new 

ideas  about  its  nature. 

Importance       It  is  for  several  reasons  important  that  the  interpreter 

guishing  old  recognize  the  old  materials.     Often  the  writer  interpreted 

and  new       onjy  a  parf-  0f  ^e  0\fi  oracie  vet  retained  it  all  either  because 

elements  . 

of  its  sacredness  or  because  it  was  familiar  and  poetically 
impressive.  The  writer  of  Daniel,  for  example,  does  not 
interpret  the  four  winds  and  the  sea  out  of  which  the  beasts 
come,  in  chapter  7.  It  is  probably  a  mistake  to  try  to 
assign  them  a  meaning  in  his  mind.     It  is  enough  to  say 

44 


Apocalyptical  Writers  Introduction 

that  they  belonged  to  the  tradition,  and  to  look  to  the  tra- 
dition for  their  meaning.  It  suffices  to  say  that  the  sea 
is  the  abode  of  the  dragon  of  chaos  in  the  original  myth 
from  which  the  beasts  are  developed.  So  in  many  cases 
the  recognition  of  the  ancient  source  of  a  figurative  creation 
gives  us  the  clew  we  need  to  its  meaning,  which  we  might 
search  for  in  vain  in  the  persons  and  events  of  the  writer's 
time.  Many  details  in  Revelation  had,  as  we  shall  see, 
no  definite  meaning  to  the  writer,  but  belonged  to  a  picture 
for  which  as  a  whole  he  had  an  application. 

But  the  other  aspect  of  the  composition  of  apocalypses  The  revision 
must  also  be  regarded.  The  books  often  had  a  further  nation  of 
history  after  they  were  written.  Revision  was  common  aP°calypses 
and  unreserved  in  Hebrew  literature  in  general.  Anony- 
mous authorship  and  the  prevailing  practical  religious 
purpose  in  writing  made  new  adaptations  to  new  needs 
natural.  The  apocalypses  would  especially  need  such  adjust- 
ments to  new  conditions.  They  were  written  for  a  definite 
situation,  often  for  a  special  crisis,  and  always  announced 
the  promised  end  as  near  at  hand.  Time  invariably  proved 
their  forecast  partly  or  wholly  mistaken.  The  situation 
passed  and  the  end  was  not  yet.  But  the  book  was  not 
cast  aside.  That  is  not  the  way  in  which  religious  history 
proceeds.  The  book  was  retained  for  its  main  message 
of  faith  and  courage,  and  for  the  value  it  had  gained  by 
use.  Slight  changes  would  adapt  it  to  new  times  and  new 
beliefs.     The  plainest  examples  of  such  revisions  are  found 

45 


Introduction  The  Messages  oj  the 

in  the  Christian  phrases  occasionally  added  to  Jewish 
apocalypses.  More  radical  changes  would  result  from 
uniting  in  one  book  oracles  originally  independent.  The 
Book  of  Enoch  is  demonstrably  a  collection  of  Enoch 
books  of  different  age  and  authorship.  It  contains  also 
fragments  of  a  Noah-literature  which  appear  as  simple 
interpolations,  without  relation  to  their  context. 
The  necessity  In  such  cases  it  is  evident  that  literary  analysis  is  essen- 
analys5ry  tial  if  the  student  is  to  assign  the  visions  to  their  proper 
place  and  give  them  the  right  interpretation.  We  cannot 
assume  the  unity  of  an  apocalypse,  but  must  seek  to  remove 
inconsistencies  and  obscurities  in  part  by  critical  analysis. 
Its  value  in  Perhaps  the  most  important  difference  now  dividing 
wdthPth"  his-  students  of  this  literature  concerns  the  relative  importance 
dltion  ~  °f  the  two  methods  of  interpretation  just  suggested.  Ac- 
cording to  one  view  it  is  to  be  assumed  that  an  apocalypse 
is  a  unity  unless  strong  reasons  to  the  contrary  appear, 
and  unevenness  in  the  construction  and  apparent  varia- 
tions in  the  point  of  view  of  the  writer  are  to  be  explained 
as  due  to  his  large  use  of  older  materials,  written  or  oral, 
which  he  did  not  fully  harmonize.  According  to  the  other 
view  the  presumption  is  that  the  book  has  gone  through  a 
complicated  history  since  leaving  its  chief  author's  hands, 
and  all  breaks  and  inconsistencies  of  view  are  to  be  used 
as  evidences  of  its  composite  character.  In  one  case  the 
interpreter's  task  is  to  trace  the  history  of  apocalyptical 
traditions,  the  meaning  given  to  these  traditions  by  the  au- 

46 


Apocalyptical  Writers  Introduction 

trior  of  the  given  writing,  and  the  plan  and  purpose  of  his 
book.  In  the  other  case  his  first  effort  must  be  to  analyze 
the  book  into  its  component  parts  and  so  retrace  the  his- 
tory of  its  literary  growth.  As  it  stands  it  has  no  plan  and 
purpose  because  it  has  no  unity,  no  proper  author,  no  one 
occasion.  Assuming  in  general  the  unity  of  the  book  we 
have  as  a  chief  problem  to  discover  the  writer's  sources. 
Assuming  its  composite  character  we  have  to  discover 
and  loosen  its  joints  and  then  study  each  part  as  an  in- 
dependent whole.  These  two  methods  have  been  called 
the  Tradition-historical,  and  the  Literary -critical  methods. 
It  can  be  safely  said  that  the  former  has  so  far  succeeded 
as  to  prove  that  the  latter  has  been  much  overworked. 
The  two  methods  need  to  be  united,  for  each  has  its  rights. 
Both  processes  entered  into  the  formation  of  this  literature. 
It  is  especially  important  to  urge  the  former  because  the 
principal  editor  of  apocalypses  in  English,  Professor  R.  H. 
Charles,  is  a  very  confident  and  somewhat  extreme  follower 
of  the  latter,  the  method  of  literary  analysis.  As  his  edi- 
tions of  the  Enoch  books,  the  Assumption  of  Moses,  the 
Ascension  of  Isaiah,  the  Apocalypse  of  Baruch  as  well  as 
the  Book  of  Jubilees  must  serve  most  of  us  as  sources,  it  is 
necessary — though  it  may  seem  ungrateful  to  one  to  whom 
we  owe  so  much — to  say  that  the  analysis  of  Charles  is  in 
general  the  least  valuable  part  of  his  books,  and  should  not 
be  taken  for  granted  by  the  reader  unless  it  is  supported 
by  the  majority  of  critics.     There  are  apocalypses,  such 

47 


Introduction  The  Messages  o]  the 

as  those  of  Baruch  and  of  Ezra  (2  Esd.  3-14),  which  are 
elaborately  analyzed  by  Charles,  of  which  the  substantial 
unity  in  the  sense  above  defined — allowing,  that  is,  for  a 
considerable  use  of  various  traditional  materials  by  the 
writers — is  the  more  current  and  the  more  probable  view. 
The  same  is  true  of  Daniel  and  perhaps  of  Revelation. 
Complicated  analyses  of  these  books,  especially  of  Revela- 
tion, have  been  made,  though  little  agreement  has  been 
reached,  and  it  remains  probable  that  each  of  these 
books,  in  approximately  its  present  form,  had  a  definite 
occasion  and  author,  though  each  makes  large  use  of  tradi- 
tions. Breaks  in  the  connection,  differences  in  historical 
situation  and  in  religious  conceptions,  may  often  be  reason- 
ably accounted  for  without  resort  to  critical  dissection  by 
appeal  to  the  variety  of  the  writer's  source  materials,  and 
also  to  a  want  of  logical  consistency,  natural  in  an  imagi- 
native literature  where  the  line  between  fact  and  poetry  is 
nowhere  drawn,  natural  also  to  the  thought  of  unscholastic 
lay  minds.  It  is  to  be  remembered  also  that  tradition  was 
a  positive  principle  of  the  apocalyptical  writers.  Neither 
heaven  nor  the  purposes  of  God  were  subject  to  change. 
What  one  seer  had  beheld  another  could  only  reaffirm. 
His  task  was  to  find  the  fulfilment  of  past  oracles  in  pres- 
ent events  and  in  those  soon  to  follow. 


48 


Apocalyptical  Writers  Introduction 

VII 

THEIR   MESSAGES    FOR    THEIR   OWN   TIMES 

The  messages  of  apocalypses  for  their  time  may  be  The  practical 
roughly  divided  into  the  practical  and  the  theoretical.  The  courage  and 
practical  message  of  the  apocalypse  has  already  been  ex-  hope 
plained  in  what  has  been  said  of  its  historical  place  and 
significance,  and  its  relation  to  prophecy.  The  original 
and  proper  occasion  of  an  apocalypse  is  a  time  of  danger 
to  faith,  of  active  persecution  or  serious  apostasy,  a  time 
when  the  oppressions  or  the  allurements  of  heathenism 
are  making  themselves  felt.  The  greatest  apocalypses, 
Daniel  and  Revelation,  were  written  when  the  world  em- 
pire was  pressing  hard  upon  the  religious  community  ;  and 
all  books  of  this  class  are  animated  by  a  spirit  of  protest 
against  the  perverse  conditions  of  the  times,  the  weakness 
and  humiliation  of  the  righteous  people  and  the  power  and 
glory  of  the  wicked.  For  the  suffering  righteous,  without 
power  or  reputation,  without  office  or  learning,  especially 
in  times  of  oppression  and  temptation,  the  practical  message 
needed  is  one  of  encouragement  and  hope,  of  trust  in  the 
reality  of  the  rule  of  God,  hidden  though  it  is,  of  belief  that 
his  rule  will  soon  be  manifest  and  his  people  vindicated. 
In  view  of  this  expectation  of  the  coming  of  God,  the  vir- 
tue to  be  urged  is  persistent  fidelity  to  religious  faiths  and 
duties  in  spite  of  the  persuasions  or  violence  of  evil  and 

<9 


Introduction  The  Messages  of  the 

in  the  face  of  death  itself.     In  the  apocalypses  this  message 
was  given  in  the  way  best  fitted  to  stir  the  heart  and  impel 
the  will  of  the  men  of  the  time. 
Thetheo-  But  the  apocalypses  base  their  practical  message  on  cer- 

message  tain  theories  of  the  world  and  of  history  which  seek  to  ex- 
plain the  present  dominance  of  evil  and  to  demonstrate 
the  nearness  of  its  overthrow.  These  speculations  are  car- 
ried far  enough  to  constitute  a  sort  of  philosophy  of  history 
and  even  the  beginnings  of  a  natural  science.  In  this 
theoretical  region  the  apocalypses  exhibit  considerable  di- 
versity, yet  the  ruling  aim  is  always  the  same,  to  explain 
the  present  power  of  evil,  and  to  prove  the  nearness  of 
its  end. 
Theory  of  the  The  problem  of  evil,  that  is,  the  sufferings  of  the  right- 
encfof  evil  eous  nation  or  sect,  of  Israel  or  the  true  Israel,  and  the 
prosperity  of  the  wicked  is  the  theme  of  much  of  the  post- 
exilic  literature  of  Judaism.  Psalms,  wisdom  books,  his- 
tories, stories,  all  struggle  with  it.  The  apocalypses  are  a 
product  of  the  extreme  pressure  of  this  problem  in  critical 
times,  and  have  their  own  solution  of  it.  Their  solution  is 
not  that  of  Proverbs,  or  Job,  or  Ecclesiastes,  or  the  Psalms. 
It  is  this :  The  rule  of  evil  is  due  to  transgressions  and 
conflicts  in  the  angel  world,  and  it  will  cease,  according  to 
an  all-including  and  determined  plan  of  God,  with  his 
coming  in  the  near  future.  The  explanation  of  existing 
conditions  is  found  in  the  world  of  spirits,  and  their  re- 
versal and  correction  is  looked  for  in  the  immediate  future. 

50 


Apocalyptical  Writers  Introduction 

The  announcement  of  the  future  is  a  more  fixed  and  es- 
sential element  in  the  apocalypse  than  the  explanation  of 
the  present,  and  may  be  considered  first. 

The  promised  Day  of  Jehovah,  the  day  of  his  coming  to  The  coming 
fulfil  his  threats  and  promises,  is  near.     He  will  come  when  hovah,  and 
evil  is  at  the  height  of  its  arrogant  and  cruel  power.     He  g^end  of 
will  take  the  world-empire  from  those  who  have  misused  it, 
and  give  it  to  his  people  Israel,  whose  rule  is  to  be  the  reali- 
zation of  God's  rule  on  earth. 

What  strikes  us  first  in  this  hope,  as  Daniel  sets  it  forth,  A  philosophy 
is  its  wide  scope  in  comparison  with  the  predictions  of  the  °  1S  ory 
earlier  prophets.  A  scheme  of  the  succession  of  nations 
to  world  rulership  is  outlined  which  has  in  a  sense  the 
character  of  a  philosophy  of  history.  This  divinely  or- 
dained succession  is  itself  a  sort  of  theodicy.  Evil  belongs 
in  the  plan  of  God,  but  its  time  is  fixed  and  its  due  reward 
will  follow. 

The  description  of  Israel's  coming  glory  is  largely  taken  Contrast  be- 
from  earlier  prophetic  pictures,  but  we  mark  in  Daniel  and  ageTnd  the 
its  successors  a  tendency  to  take  these  pictures  not  too  lit-  age  to  come 
erally,  but  to  lift  the  hoped-for  age  above  the  conditions  of 
the  present  world.    The  consummation  takes  on  a  supernat- 
ural character.   This  transcendence  of  the  hope  is  a  marked 
characteristic  of  the  apocalyptical  literature.     It  resulted 
in  a  transformation  of  the  older  earthly  Messianic  hope. 
The  contrast  between  the  present  and  the  coming  age  be- 
came a  contrast  of  two  worlds.     In  the  last  Jewish  apoca- 

5i 


Introduction  The  Messages  of  the 

lypses,  those  of  Ezra  and  Baruch,  this  development 
reaches  its  height,  and  the  whole  view  is  dominated  by  the 
dualism  of  "this  world"  and  the  "world  to  come."  But 
the  Jewish  apocalyptical  movement  was  tending  in  this 
direction  from  its  beginning,  though  these  phrases  were 
not  current.  A  transcendental,  supernatural  element  dis- 
tinguishes its  hope  from  the  older  Messianic  conceptions. 
To  be  sure  the  foundation  is  laid  for  the  contrast  of  the 
two  worlds  earlier  than  Daniel,  in  Isaiah  n,  Zechariah 
12-14,  Joel,  Malachi  4,  Isaiah  24-27.  It  is  true  also 
that  the  simpler  national  hope  is  still  found  in  the  apoc- 
alypses, as  in  Enoch  5,  10,  25,  90.  .  Yet  on  the  whole  the 
unearthly  view  of  the  consummation  is  characteristic  of  the 
apocalypses.  In  general  they  look  forward  not  to  a  sim- 
ple restoration  of  David's  kingdom,  or  to  a  recovery  of 
the  ideal  conditions  of  the  patriarchal  age  or  even  of  the 
earthly  paradise,  but  to  a  new  earth  fashioned  after  heav- 
enly models  and  ruled  by  heavenly  powers,  a  real  descent 
of  heaven  to  earth,  and  then  gradually  an  ascent  of  the 
righteous  to  heaven  and  their  transformation  into  angelic 
natures. 

The  reverse  side  of  the  hope  for  a  new  world  was  de- 
spair and  hatred  of  this  present  world.  It  is  as  wholly 
evil  as  the  other  is  to  be  good.  Not  only  are  the  righteous 
in  adversity,  but  nothing  else  is  possible  while  the  present 
order  continues.  The  world  is  now  subject  to  evil  powers 
by  the  divine  allowance  or  decree.    This  dualism  involved 

52 


Apocalyptical  Writers  Introduction 

a  partly  pessimistic  and  ascetic  tone,  which  is  not  native  to 
the  Hebrew  mind  or  characteristic  of  the  Old  Testament. 

We  note  further  a  tendency  to  put  the  individual  in  the  increasing 
place  of  the  nation  as  the  centre  of  interest  now  and  here-  o?  Ae  fodi- 
after.     This  tendency  did  not  develop  so  rapidly  as  one  ^^  ofthe 
would  expect,  but  it  is  unmistakably  present.     It  is  a  very  idea  of  resur- 

1  .    .    rection 

significant  fact  that  the  great  doctrine  of  resurrection  origi- 
nates, in  Judaism,  in  the  apocalyptical  literature;  for  Isaiah 
24-27  must  be  regarded  as  belonging  both  in  date  and  nat- 
ure essentially  in  this  class.  Here  the  belief  is  expressed 
not  only  that  death  will  cease  to  exist  in  the  Messianic  age 
(25  :  8),  but  that  though  death  is  final  for  the  wicked,  the 
righteous  dead  will  rise  to  have  part  in  the  coming  glory  of 
Israel  (26  :  14,  19). 

Daniel,  who  first  states  the  belief  in  dogmatic  form,  ex- 
pects a  resurrection  of  many,  righteous  and  wicked  as  well, 
each  to  receive  the  reward  he  deserves  (Dan.  12  :  2,  3,  13). 
We  should  expect  that  the  hope  of  individual  blessedness 
after  death,  when  it  had  once  arisen,  would  displace  the 
idea  of  a  national  glory.  But  in  Israel  the  national  ele- 
ment was  too  deep-rooted  for  this.  It  is  astonishing  how 
slowly  the  individual  hope  made  its  way  into  the  Israelitish 
religion.  It  long  remained  in  the  background  and  was 
subordinate  to  the  national  idea,  as  its  very  form,  that  of 
a  bodily  resurrection,  indicates.  The  blessed  future  was 
not  the  life  of  the  spirit  in  heaven,  but  the  recovery  of  the 
present  life  on  earth  in  the  Messianic  age. 

53 


Introduction  The  Messages  oj  the 

Spiritualiza-       But  we  have  seen  already  that  the  national  hope  in  the 
conception  of  apocalypses  took  on  a  more  and  more  unearthly  character, 
resurrection    'p^g  hoped-for  kingdom  became  a  new  world  of  heavenly 
powers  and   properties.     The  conception  of  resurrection 
must  keep  pace  with  this  development.     The  new  body 
must  be  one  capable  of  the  immortal,  angel-like  life  of 
men  in  the  heaven-like  world  to  come.     In  this  direction  a 
purely  spiritual  immortality  might  finally  displace  resurrec- 
tion altogether,  and  sometimes  we  seem  to  be  on  the  verge 
of  this  change.1    To  this  end  Greek  notions  of  the  natural 
immortality  of  the  soul  could  have  contributed,  as  Persian 
conceptions  may  have  helped  in  the  first  formation  of  the 
Jewish  doctrine  of  resurrection. 
Rise  of  the  In  the   end,  however,  it  was  not  found  possible  to  lift 

idea9n'  the  old  national  hope  up  to  the  level  of  the  highest  indi- 

vidual hope.  The  nation  required  this  earth  for  the  reali- 
zation of  the  prophetic  pictures  of  its  destiny,  but  the  in- 
dividual could  dwell  not  only  on  an  earth  transfigured  after 
heavenly  patterns,  but  just  as  well  in  heaven  itself.  After 
various  efforts  to  give  a  fully  heavenly  character  to  the 
national  earthly  hope,  of  which  perhaps  Enoch  37-70  is  the 
highest,  the  apocalyptical  writers  tend  to  fall  back  on  a 
simpler  adjustment  of  the  old  hope  and  the  new,  in  which 
each  has  its  full  rights.  They  are  made  to  succeed  each 
other  in  time  instead  of  blending  with  each  other  in  char^ 
acter.   Thus  arose  the  chiliastic  or  millenarian  eschatology, 

1  See,  for  example,  Enoch  93-104,  and  Jubil.  23  :  31. 

54 


Apocalyptical  Writers  Introduction 

according  to  which  the  promises  of  Israel's  national  great- 
ness would  be  literally  fulfilled,  and  then,  after  a  certain 
period,  this  world  would  come  to  an  end  and  the  heavenly 
world  would  follow,  introduced  by  a  general  resurrection 
and  judgment.  At  this  stage  heaven  and  hell  and  the 
fortunes  of  souls  therein  took  the  place  of  the  national 
hope  as  the  chief  and  final  theme  of  eschatology.1 

But  it  is  a  striking  fact  that  throughout  the  whole  course  Slight  interest 
of  the  apocalyptical  literature  during  almost  three  cen-  Sub  after* 
turies,  from  Daniel  to  Second  Esdras,  the  problem  of  the  death 
nation,  that  is  of  the  true  Israel,  the  righteous  community, 
remained  foremost.  Only  in  one  isolated  chapter  in  Enoch 
*(22)  do  we  find  speculations  about  the  varying  lots  of  souls 
after  death.  In  Second  Esdras  there  is  a  far  more  elab- 
orate treatment  of  this  theme  in  the  section  long  lost,  but 
finally  recovered  in  the  Latin  version  (7  :  36-126),  but  even 
here  the  fate  of  Zion  and  Israel  is  first  in  the  writer's  mind. 
It  is  only  in  the  Christian  Apocalypse  of  Peter  that  the 
ruling  theme  becomes  that  which  it  remained  in  the  escha- 
tological  speculations  of  later  ages,  the  varying  fortunes  of 
souls  after  death.  The  Apocalypse  of  Peter  is  the  oldest 
Jewish-Christian  writing  that  treats  the  theme  of  Dante's 
apocalypse,  the  Divine  Comedy. 

Another  important  question  concerns  the  place  of  the 
Messiah  in  the  apocalypses.     In  Daniel  no  Messiah  ap- 

1  This  scheme  is  found  first  in  Enoch  93  :  1-10  ;  91  :  12-17,  then  in  Rev.  20, 
and  2  Esd.  7  :  28. 

55 


Introduction  The  Messages  of  the 

The  place  of  pears.  There  seem  to  be  two  reasons  for  his  disap- 
Leapoca-a  pearance.  One  is  found  in  the  supernatural  character  of  the 
lypses  hope.     God  himself  and  no  human  hand  is  to  overthrow 

Antiochus  and  right  the  wrongs  of  those  who  fear  God. 
The  other  reason  is  that  the  human  agent  that  is  to  be 
God's  representative  in  the  future  age  is  Israel.  The  one 
like  a  man  who  receives  the  Kingdom  from  God  and  reigns 
forever  is  an  angel,  not  a  man  ;  and  he  is  the  representative 
of  the  people  of  the  saints  of  the  Most  High.  This  only 
carries  on  a  tendency  seen  already  in  the  Psalms,  where 
the  anointed  of  God,  his  son,  is  usually  the  nation,  not  an 
individual  king. 

In  general  the  Messiah  occupies  a  very  secondary  position 
in  the  apocalypses.  In  Enoch  90  he  appears  only  after  the 
kingdom  has  been  established  by  God,  as  the  head  of 
the  community.  There  is  no  Messiah  in  Enoch  1-36, 
91-104,  or  in  the  Assumption  of  Moses.  In  only  one  apoc- 
alyptical writing  does  he  occupy  the  central  place,  namely, 
in  Enoch  37-70.  Here  in  the  effort  to  exalt  the  national 
hope  and  give  it  a  transcendent  character,  the  figure  of 
the  Messiah  is  carried  up  and  given  a  heavenly  nature  and 
place.  Though  still  a  man  he  is  a  companion  of  God  and 
the  angels  in  heaven  from  the  beginning,  and  he  is  to  be 
himself  the  judge,  sitting  on  God's  throne  in  the  coming 
age.  This  exalted  conception  of  a  pre-existent  and  semi- 
divine  Messiah  is  very  significant,  but  its  influence  in 
Judaism  seems  to  have  been  slight.     What  its  influence 

56 


Apocalyptical  Writers  Introduction 

may  have  been  upon  the  early  Christology  of  the  Christian 
church  it  is  exceedingly  difficult  to  determine. 

We  turn  now  from  the  messages  of  the  apocalypses  re-  The  unseen 
garding  the  future  to  their  messages  about  the  unseen  origin  of  evil6 
world.  Ezekiel  says,  "The  heavens  were  opened,  and  I 
saw  visions  of  God"  (i :  i).  This  suggests  the  other  mys- 
teries, besides  those  of  the  future,  which  the  seer  sought 
to  disclose.  Heaven  contains  God  who  governs  and  de- 
termines all,  and  the  angels  who  know  and  do  his  will, 
and  hence  the  ultimate  solution  of  the  problems  of  human 
life  and  destiny,  of  present  evil  and  of  coming  good.  The 
apocalypses  are  ruled  by  the  idea  that  the  visible  world 
is  to  be  understood  by  the  invisible. 

The  Old  Testament  contains  few  visions  of  heaven,  Old  Testa- 
and  they  do  not  form  an  essential  element  in  a  national  ofheavenand 
religion.    The  nation's  fortunes  constitute  the  region  where  of  God 
Jehovah's  self-manifestations  are  to  be  seen.     In  regard 
to  his  heavenly  abode  little  curiosity  seems  to  have  been 
felt.     We  have  indeed  such  visions  as  Jacob's  at  Bethel, 
the  vision  of  Moses  and  the  elders  in  Exodus  24 :  10,  and 
that  of  Micaiah  in  First  Kings  22  :  19.     These,  together 
with  the  visions  of  Ezekiel  1  and  Isaiah  6,  are  enough  to 
suggest  that  more  fancies  about  the  abode  of  God  and  his 
angelic  servants  were  current  among  the  people  than  the 
canonical  books  record. 

Jewish  thought  tended  to  separate  God  more  and  more 
from  the  world,  to  set  him  at  an  inaccessible  height  and 

57 


Introduction 


The  Messages  oj  the 


Tendencies     surround  him  with  an  impassable  barrier  of  fiery  glory. 
Jewish  This  involved  the  danger  of  conceiving  of  God's  holiness 

Godght  °f  *n  Physical  terms.  Human  terms  were  avoided  through 
reverence,  but  in  fact  human  terms,  those  of  personality 
and  character,  are  the  highest  we  possess,  and  when  men 
try  to  surmount  these  they  fall  below  them.  This  was  the 
danger  into  which  the  apocalypses  fell.  Daniel  7  :  9-10 
contains  an  exalted  picture  of  God,  but  it  appeals  to  the 
imagination  rather  than  to  conscience,  and  in  it  the  qual- 
ities that  made  the  God  of  prophets  and  psalmists  Israel's 
Father  and  Saviour  are  lost.  Enoch  14  seeks  to  surpass 
this  vision  in  the  same  direction.  Dazzling  light  and  con- 
suming fire  surround  God  and  fill  the  seer  with  terror.  The 
vision  of  God  in  Revelation  4  belongs  in  the  same  cate- 
gory. The  tendency  to  make  God  remote  is  not  peculiar 
to  the  apocalypses.  It  belonged  to  late  Judaism  in  general. 
But  it  is  striking  that  even  the  successors  of  the  prophets 
did  not  know  how  to  overcome  it  and  recover  a  more  ethi- 
cal conception,  but  that  in  them  also  it  produced  its  in- 
evitable fruit,  an  extreme  supernaturalism  and  a  certain 
religious  coldness  and  formalism. 
Resulting  de-  One-sided  stress  on  the  transcendence  of  God  above 
angdology°  and  apart  from  the  world  always  involves  the  substitution 
for  his  presence  in  the  world  of  some  sort  of  intermediary 
agency.  Angels  are  the  earliest  and  most  persistent  form 
which  this  conception  takes.  Though  the  conception 
goes  far  back  in  Israel,  the  number  and  offices  of  angels 


Apocalyptical  Writers  Introduction 

were  naturally  increased  as  God  was  more  and  more  shut 
of!  by  his  holy  aloofness  from  contact  with  the  world. 
No  doubt  the  Jews  borrowed  their  later,  more  elaborate, 
angelology  in  part  from  foreign  religions,  yet  the  Old 
Testament  contains  so  many  elements  of  the  later  doc- 
trine that  we  seem  to  need  little  help  from  outside  in  order 
to  account  for  the  development.  The  Jews  knew  how  to 
borrow  what  they  liked  and  use  it  as  they  liked.  They 
knew  how  to  appropriate  foreign  mythological  figures  with- 
out the  mythology,  and  even  dualistic  conceptions  without 
the  dualism,  and  could  build  a  Babylonian  story  of  crea- 
tion into  their  system,  and  the  Persian  idea  of  a  ruling 
evil  spirit,  without  giving  up  their  monotheism. 

Yet  it  must  be  said  that  an  elaborate  angelology,  though 
it  may  be  developed  to  guard  an  exalted  mondtheism, 
tends  actually  to  lessen  the  sense  of  the  influence  of  God 
in  the  world,  and  to  substitute  other  divine  beings  for  the 
one  God  as  objects  of  trust  and  worship,  and  as  helpers 
in  need. 

In  the  history  of  Israel's  religion  we  find  at  the  begin-  Early  stages 
ning  a  period  when  there  were  multitudes  of  divine  beings,  angelology 
"sons  of  God."  Then  followed  the  period  of  the  highest 
development  of  Israel's  peculiar  religion,  that  of  the  proph- 
ets and  the  law,  when  the  angel  world  was  practically 
ignored  and  Jehovah  stood  alone,  the  only  divine  being 
with  whom  Israel  had  to  do,  one  who  stood  in  most  intimate 
and  living  relation  to  his  people.     Then  came  a  period 

59 


Introduction  The  Messages  oj  the 

represented  by  the  apocalypses,  in  which  angels  reappear 
and  multiply,  but  in  strict  subordination  to  the  one  who  is 
Lord  of  lords  and  King  of  kings.  In  other  words,  angel- 
ology  is  repressed  during  the  time  of  the  establishment  of 
monotheism,  and  then  revived  in  the  interests  of  mono- 
theism, to  aid  in  a  still  further  exaltation  of  the  one  God 
above  the  earth  and  man. 
Varying  The  innumerable  hosts  of  angels  who  surrounded  God's 

functions  of  throne  formed  the  court  of  the  heavenly  King,  and  helped 
anges  represent  his  majesty  to  the  imagination.     It  was  natural 

that  their  functions  should  be  differentiated.  Perhaps 
partly  under  foreign  influence  the  conception  arose  of 
archangels,  nearest  the  throne,  usually  seven,  but  some- 
times four  in  number.  They  probably  rest  ultimately  on 
the  seven  moving  objects  in  the  heavens,  and  on  the  four 
points  of  compass  or  winds.  The  multitude  of  stars  not 
only  represented  the  heavenly  hosts,  but  in  the  popular 
view  seem  to  have  been  actually  living,  angelic  beings. 
This  idea  goes  back  to  the  ancient  Babylonian  and  Assyr- 
ian star  worship,  and  is  even  adopted  by  the  philosopher 
Philo,  in  the  time  of  Christ.  More  native  to  Israel's 
religion  was  the  conception  that  the  elements  of  storm, 
clouds,  wind  and  lightning,  were  living  powers.  The 
cherubim  and  seraphim  appear  to  stand  in  this  connec- 
tion. Other  more  familiar  phenomena  of  nature  were 
conceived  of  as  animated  by  superhuman  beings.  Where- 
ever  mysterious  forces  were  seen,  spirits  were  at  work.     In 

60 


Apocalyptical  Writers  Introduction 

the  apocalypses  appear  the  first  names  of  angels,  in 
Daniel,  Michael  and  Gabriel,  in  Enoch  many  more. 
Michael  is  the  guardian  or  representative  angel  of  Israel.  Representa- 
In  the  Old  Testament  we  already  meet  the  idea  that  every  th^natfons0 
nation  has  such  an  angelic  counterpart  (Deut.  4 :  19-20; 
17:3;  32:8-9  LXX)  ;  and  this  conception — a  mono- 
theistic modification  of  the  older  idea  that  each  nation 
had  its  own  god — is  another  important  source  of  the 
apocalyptical  angelology.  It  was  natural  to  use  this  con- 
ception to  explain  the  evil  character  of  heathen  nations 
and  their  deeds  of  violence  and  injustice  against  Israel,1 
and  to  look  forward  to  the  punishment  of  these  angel 
princes  as  well  as  that  of  earthly  kings. 

But  the  problem  of  evil  needed  to  be  pushed  still  fur-  Sinning 
ther  back.  In  Genesis  6  :  1-4  the  apocalyptical  writers  ange 
found  a  clew  to  the  beginnings  of  transgression  in  the 
angel  world,  and  an  explanation  of  human  sin  and  suffer- 
ing. We  shall  see  the  important  use  made  of  this  in  Enoch. 
The  sin  of  these  angels  is  more  or  less  literally  represented 
by  the  wandering  of  certain  stars  from  their  courses,  the 
meteors.  Their  imprisonment  beneath  the  earth  is  at- 
tested by  earthquakes,  volcanoes  and  sulphurous  springs. 

The  tendency  of  all  efforts  to  solve  the  problem  of  evil  idea  of  a 
by  recourse  to  the  angelic  world  is  to  carry  all  back  to  one  spiritof 
supreme   spirit  of   evil.     From   the   Old   Testament   the evi1 
name  Satan  was  taken,  that  one  of  the  angel  host  whose 

r 

1  So  in  Enoch  85-90. 
6l 


Introduction  The  Messages  oj  the 

office  it  was  to  accuse  men  before  God,  to  prove  their  pro- 
fessions false,  and  even  to  tempt  them  to  sin.     The  con- 
ception of  angels  of  the  nations,  in  connection  with  the 
power  of  the  one  ruling  nation,  first  Greece,  then  Rome, 
would  easily  lead  to  the  idea  of  a  supreme  evil  spirit  as 
the  ruler  of  this  world.     It  is  probable  that  foreign  in- 
fluences, that  of  the  Babylonian  chaos-beast,  and  that  of 
the  Persian  god  of  darkness,  entered  into  the  formation 
of  the  final  idea  that  the  present  world,  by  divine  allowance 
and  for  an  appointed  time,  was  in  the  power  of  the  devil. 
It  will  be  seen  that  the  angelology  of  the  apocalypses 
has  an  important  place  in  a  long  and  involved  history  of 
human  thought  and  fancy.     Its  importance  for  us  is  en- 
hanced by  the  fact  that  New  Testament  angelology  and 
demonology  have  their  closest   analogy  and  in  part  their 
explanation  in  these  books. 
The  future         One  other  subject  should  be  briefly  touched  upon.     Be- 
righteousand  sides  heaven,  the  abode  of  God  and  the  angels,  our  seers 
wicked  visited  other  hidden  places,  especially  the  future  abodes 

of  the  righteous  and  wicked.  Here  also  we  find  a  variety 
and  growth  of  ideas,  and  a  blending  of  conceptions  origi- 
nally distinct.  Sheol  was  at  first  the  common  abode  of 
all  the  dead.  The  renewed  holy  land  was  the  place  of 
the  consummation.  To  this  some  of  the  righteous  were 
to  be  restored  from  Sheol,  according  to  the  oldest  apoca- 
lypse. The  transformed  land  and  the  new  Jerusalem 
and  temple  were  more  and  more  supernaturalized.     They 

62 


Apocalyptical  Writers  Introduction 

were  not  only  God's  work  but  were  already  present,  not 
only  in  his  thought,  but  in  his  heaven,  waiting  to  be  re- 
vealed. Still  later  when  the  heavenly  consummation  was 
put  after  the  earthly,  the  final  abode  of  the  righteous 
was  heaven  itself.  A  transitional  conception  between  the 
earthly  and  the  heavenly  place  of  final  blessedness  was 
that  of  Paradise.  Man  would  recover  the  happy  garden 
he  lost  by  sin.  This  was  thought  of  as  in  a  remote  part 
of  the  earth,  and  as  already  the  abode  of  the  few  who  had 
escaped  death,  such  as  Enoch,  Elijah  and  Moses.  After- 
ward it  was  transferred  to  heaven,  or  one  of  the  heavens. 
Meanwhile  Sheol  was  gradually  transformed  from  the 
abode  of  all  the  dead  to  the  place  of  the  wicked  only. 
Greek  influence  seems  to  have  modified  the  idea  of  Sheol 
as  we  find  it  in  Enoch  22.  Here  it  is  a  place  of  provisional 
rewards  and  punishments.  Yet  the  wicked  must  rise 
from  Sheol  in  order  to  be  adequately  punished,  and  the 
place  of  their  punishment  was  conceived  of  in  a  realistic 
way  as  the  Valley  of  Hinnom,  near  Jerusalem.  Finally 
this  idea  was  spiritualized,  and  Gehenna  became  the  place 
of  the  punishment  of  the  souls  of  the  wicked,  Sheol  having 
finally  the  same  meaning.  Our  word,  hell,  is  from  the 
Greek  equivalent  of  Sheol,  Hades  ;  but  it  has  the  later, 
not  the  original  meaning  of  that  word. 


63 


Introduction  The  Messages  oj  the 

VIII 

THEIR   MESSAGES   FOR   OUR   TIME 

Value  of  the  The  more  theoretical  or  theological  messages  of  the 
us  "is  limited0  apocalypses  it  is  evidently  impossible  for  us  to  accept  in 
any  literal  way  as  a  message  for  our  day.  That  which 
they  claimed  to  do,  namely,  to  unveil  the  heavenly  world 
and  the  future  age,  they  really  did  not  do.  We  cannot 
accept  their  descriptions  of  heaven,  of  God's  throne,  or  of 
the  angels,  their  names  and  functions,  as  a  revelation  of 
hidden  realities.  They  are  at  most  figurative  and  imagi- 
native representations  or  symbols  of  faith  in  God  and  a 
spiritual  realm.  We  are  interested  in  these  things  only,  on 
the  one  side,  for  the  imperishable  faith  and  hope  behind 
them,  and  on  the  other  for  their  place  in  the  history  of 
human  speculation  and  fancy.1  Our  work  as  interpreters 
is  done  when  we  have  put  a  writer's  views  of  the  unseen 
world  in  their  proper  relation  to  earlier  and  later  views, 
and  traced  their  sources  and  influence,  and  when  we  have 
appreciated  his  underlying  faith  and  his  message  to  his 
time.  We  may  not  be  able  to  find  the  source  or  sense  of 
some  fantastic  figure,  some  number  or  symbol,  but  we  do 
not  suppose  that  if  we  could  find  it  we  should  have  actual 

1  "Apocalypses  do  not  reveal  to  us  the  secrets  of  the  divine  providence,  but 
do  reveal  the  optimistic  believing  nature  of  the  human  soul,  the  permanent 
disquiet  which  makes  his  dignity." — Sabatier. 

64 


Apocalyptical  Writers  Introduction 

light  upon  unseen  realities.     We  should  have  new  light 
only  upon  a  past  phase  of  human  thought. 

Even  in  the  history  of  religious  speculation  we  can  give 
to  apocalypses  only  a  lowly  place.  They  belong  among 
the  curious  side  paths  of  the  mind's  activity,  leading  into 
thickets,  not  to  any  of  the  great  highways  of  intellectual 
progress.  Yet  certain  considerations  may  help  us  ap- 
preciate the  value  of  these  books  and  the  degree  in  which 
we  can  find  a  universal  truth  in  them. 

Although  we  cannot  receive  their  theoretical  message,  Permanent 
yet  their  practical  message  for  their  own  time  is  a  true  practical 
message  for  all  like  times,  and  in  a  measure  for  all  times  messase 
alike.  Religious  faith  in  times  of  a  dominating,  aggressive, 
or  insinuating  worldliness  needs  to  maintain  itself  by  the 
assurance  of  the  real  dominion  of  the  unseen  world  over 
the  world  of  sense,  and  by  the  hope  of  some  approaching 
manifestation  of  God,  some  open  demonstration  of  the 
rule  of  justice  and  goodness.  The  apocalyptical  temper  is 
needed  when  religion  is  assailed  and  in  danger  ;  and  in  all 
times  the  religious  life  needs  to  maintain  its  purity  and 
strength  by  some  sort  of  protest  against  the  world,  some 
defiance  of  ruling  ideals  and  customs,  some  faith  in  real- 
ities above  those  of  sense,  and  in  truths  contrary  to  ap- 
pearances. The  greater  apocalypses  were  inspired  by  a 
living  faith  in  the  ideal  and  an  eager  expectation  of  its 
coming  into  reality  ;  and  faith  in  ideals  which  the  world 
contradicts  is  too  rare  and  precious  a  thing  to  be  despised 

65 


Introduction  The  Messages  o)  the 

because  its  form  is  strange.     We  should   have  a  deep 
sympathy  with  this  as  with  every  effort  to  rise  above  the 
world,  to  judge  the  sensible  by  the  eternal,  the  present  by 
the  future,  our  own  times  and  fortunes  by  an  all -including 
purpose  of  God. 
Their  con-         This  leads  us  over  from  the  directly  practical  to  a  cer- 
tory'as  a     S  tain  aspect  of  the  theory  of  the  apocalypses  in  which  we 
umty  may  find  a  message  for  to-day.     The  apocalyptical  writ- 

ings are  among  the  first  which  can  be  called  in  a  crude  way 
philosophies  of  history.  Daniel  and  its  successors  have 
grasped  the  great  idea  of  human  history  as  a  unity,  as  pro- 
ceeding according  to  a  rational  plan  and  bound  to  issue  in 
a  worthy  consummation.  The  strangeness  and  perplexity 
of  their  present  was  to  be  understood  in  the  light  of  the  past 
and  the  future.  If  they  could  find  their  place  in  world 
history  they  would  understand  what  bafiied  them  in  pres- 
ent conditions.  This  conception  of  world  history  goes 
back  to  the  prophets  and  belongs  to  Israel's  monotheism, 
the  unity  of  history  being  a  corollary  of  the  unity  of  God. 
But  the  apocalypses  develop  and  apply  it  with  a  new  range 
and  consciousness.  It  is  true  that  they  pushed  their  faith 
too  far  in  a  deterministic  direction.  The  present  rule  of 
evil  was  divinely  decreed,  and  the  day  of  its  end  was  set. 
Good  men  had  nothing  to  do  but  to  wait  for  the  next  act  in 
the  divine  drama.  Yet  we  should  recognize  the  truth  for 
which  they  stood.  There  is  a  modern  distinction  between 
those  who  emphasize  the  free,  creative  individual  in  his- 

66 


Apocalyptical  Writers  Introduction 

tory  and  those  who  give  the  decisive  place  to  an  ideal  evo- 
lutionary process.  Many  historians  belong  to  the  former 
class,  and  many  sociologists  to  the  latter,  so  that  there  is 
truth  in  the  suggestion  of  Sabatier  that  "sociologists  are 
the  last  class  of  apocalyptical  writers." 

That  which  most  separates  the  apocalyptical  view  from  The  super- 
present  conceptions  is  its  pure  supernaturalism.  Even  £f  th^apoca- 
compared  with  the  still  more  ancient  prophets,  the  apoca-  lypse 
lyptical  writers  show  less  sense  of  an  inner,  necessary  re- 
lation between  the  present  and  the  past  and  future.  Pres- 
ent evils  the  prophets  declared  were  due  to  past  sins,  not 
to  demoniac  agencies,  and  not  to  a  divine  decree.  The  fut- 
ure is  conditioned  by  the  present.  Men  were  called  upon 
not  only  to  wait  for  it,  but  to  determine  it  by  present  choices. 
On  the  other  hand  the  apocalyptical  writers  would  reveal 
an  absolutely  fixed  future,  in  which  they  saw  not  the  in- 
evitable results  of  present  conduct,  but  the  violent  reversal 
of  present  conditions.  The  sign  that  this  future  was  near 
was  not  the  likeness  but  the  unlikeness  of  the  present 
to  it,  not  the  presence  but  the  absence  of  its  powers  and 
qualities. 

So  in  the  apocalyptical  conception  of  world  history  we  Truth  and 

_     ,  ,  .  ,  ,      ,  ,  .  ...        error  in  their 

find  something  to  admire  and  also  something  to  criticise,  viewofhis- 
The  idea  of  a  divine  plan  that  determines  human  history  tory 
and  contains  the  explanation  of  what  seems  like  chance  or 
mishap  or  injustice  in  it,  we  can  approve,  even  though  the 
specific  plans  of  Daniel  and  of  Revelation  have  been  proved 

67 


Introduction  The  Messages  of  the 

mistaken.  The  idea  that  the  present  world  is  given  over 
to  the  rule  of  evil,  even  though  balanced  by  the  belief  that 
it  was  God  who  gave  it,  and  that  he  will  take  it  back  again  ; 
the  idea  that  nothing  can  be  done  to  remedy  the  evils,  but 
that  they  must  increase  till  at  their  height  God  interferes 
and  brings  them  to  an  end, — with  this  pessimistic  view  of 
the  present  world  and  purely  supernaturalistic  conception 
of  the  coming  rule  of  good,  we  cannot  sympathize.  It 
must  be  admitted  that  the  dualistic  contrast  between 
this  world  and  the  world  to  come  is  of  fundamental  sig- 
nificance to  the  apocalypses,  and  if,  as  we  believe,  it  is 
mistaken,  it  is  a  fundamental  mistake.  Yet  we  may 
partly  forgive  a  pessimistic  view  of  the  present  world  in 
those  who  held  so  grand  an  optimism  in  regard  to  the  uni- 
verse as  a  whole. 
Value  of  the  We  should  be  the  more  ready  to  forgive  when  we  remem- 
m  compart  Der  tne  type  of  religion  which  stood  in  contrast  with  this, 
son  with  the  jj-  wouid  De  hardly  fair  to  compare  the  apocalyptical  with 
of  religion  the  sceptical  type  of  religion  represented  by  Ecclesiastes, 
because  this  was  exceptional.  It  is  certainly  better  to  look 
for  a  miraculous  change,  not  conditioned  by  anything  in  the 
present  or  in  man,  than  to  think  that  nothing  changes, 
that  all  things  move  in  a  ceaseless  round  without  progress, 
and  that  the  lot  of  the  righteous  and  the  wicked  may  be 
at  last  the  same.  But  the  type  of  religion  with  which  it 
is  fair  to  compare  the  apocalyptical  is  the  legal.  This  was 
what  finally  prevailed  in  Judaism.     It  was  better  adapted 

68 


Apocalyptical  Writers  Introduction 

to  the  average  man  in  average  times,  and  to  men  of  culture 
and  responsible  position  at  all  times.  Much  can  be  said 
for  the  type  of  piety  that  legalism  could  and  did  produce, 
for  its  greater  sobriety  and  stability,  its  greater  individuality 
and  higher  ethical  quality,  though  these  were  not  all  that 
could  be  desired.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  element  of 
emotion  and  enthusiasm  is  fostered  by  apocalyptical  hopes, 
and  in  their  atmosphere  the  formalism  and  selfishness 
which  legalism  tends  to  produce  do  not  thrive.  The  apoca- 
lyptical seer  is  enlisted  in  a  cause  larger  than  his  own,  in 
the  coming  of  the  new  age  and  not  simply  in  his  individual 
part  in  the  world  to  come.  It  is  better  to  have  large  out- 
looks and  stirring  enthusiasms  than  to  rest  in  the  minute 
study  of  the  law's  details  and  the  anxious  observance  of 
its  ritual.  It  is  better  to  hope  for  a  coming  supernatural 
Kingdom  of  God  than  to  identify  his  kingdom  with  an  ex- 
clusive church,  as  Jewish  and  afterward  Catholic  legalism 
tended  to  do.  The  tendencies  in  Judaism  which  led  di- 
rectly to  its  rejection  of  the  apocalyptical  type  are  not  such 
as  we  can  wholly  admire. 

This  comparison  leads  to  another  consideration  which  Significance 
may  help  us  to  appreciate  the  elements  of  permanent  value  °ypseeinPthel 
in  the  apocalypses.     What  does  it  signify  that  early  Chris-  Qmstiamt°f 
tianity  took  up  and  developed  these  books  as  Judaism  let 
them  go?     Is  it  true  that  Christianity  was  the  product  of 
the  apocalyptical  movement  in  Judaism,  while  its  other 
movements  issued  in  rabbinical  legalism?     It  would  in- 

69 


Introduction  The  Messages  oj  the 

deed  appear,  when  we  read  the  gospels  and  the  letters  of 
Paul,  as  if  Christianity  took  its  start  in  a  critical  and  nega- 
tive attitude  toward  legalism,  and  in  a  positive  affirmation 
of  the  apocalyptical  hopes.  From  this  our  inference  might 
be  that  the  apocalypses  contained  more  of  that  universality 
of  scope  and  spirituality  of  meaning  which  mark  Chris- 
tianity than  did  the  ruling  legal  traditions  and  practices. 
But  there  is  another  interpretation  of  the  matter.  It  may 
be  held  that  the  connection  of  Christianity  with  the  apoca- 
lypses was  accidental  not  essential,  a  harm  rather  than  a 
gain.  The  apocalyptical  element  in  early  Christianity, 
it  may  be  argued,  was  an  unfortunate  Jewish  survival 
which  hampered  the  gospel,  and  made  a  long  battle  neces- 
sary before  universality  and  spirituality  could  win  the  day. 
The  war  indeed  has  not  ended  even  now.  Millenarianism 
is  simply  the  apocalyptical  form  of  Christian  faith,  which 
many  still  think  the  only  genuine  form. 

There  is  really  no  more  vital  question  than  the  one  thus 
raised.  Historians  of  the  life  of  Christ  and  the  beginnings 
of  Christianity  are  chiefly  divided  at  just  this  point,  the 
significance  of  the  apocalyptical  element.  It  is  far  too 
great  a  problem  to  discuss  here.  Truth  lies  in  mediating 
rather  than  in  extreme  views.  No  doubt  one  of  the  most 
difficult  and  important  struggles  of  the  early  centuries  of 
Christianity  was  that  by  which  it  freed  itself  from  the  apoca- 
lyptical inheritance  which  it  received  almost  at  birth.  No 
doubt,  on  the  other  hand  the  summons  and  the  promises 

70 


Apocalyptical  Writers  Introduction 

of  Christ  appealed  most  to  those  Jews  who  were  least 
under  the  burden  of  legalism,  to  those  who  were  most  sen- 
sitive and  eager  in  their  Messianic  anticipations.  The 
forward  look,  discontent  with  themselves  and  their  times, 
trust  in  God  and  his  purpose  of  good,  the  enthusiastic  and 
expectant  temper,  best  prepared  men  at  the  first  to  listen 
to  the  message  of  the  prophet  of  Galilee,  and  afterward 
to  maintain  the  new  faith  against  the  adverse  world.1 

But  was  it  true  that  the  gospel  as  Jesus  preached  it  Relation  of 
was  an  apocalypse  ?     We  have   compared  prophecy  and  apocalyptical 
apocalypse,  and  have  found  that  closely  related  though  hopes 
they  are,   they  represent   two   contrasted  conceptions  of 
the  nature  of  revelation,  two  ideas  of  the  supernatural, 
two  estimates  of  the  present  life,  two  theologies,  almost 
two  religions.     Christ's  own  relationship  was  far  closer 
with   prophecy   than   with   the   apocalypse.     Christianity 
was   a   new   prophetic   movement,    pre-announced   by   a 
prophet  of  the  older,  not  the  later  type,  and  founded  by 
one  in  whom  the  prophetic  spirit  was  present  in  its  fulness. 
It  could  not  but  find  its  closest  point  of  connection  with 
Judaism    in    surviving   prophecy,    degenerate    though   it 
was  ;  and  it  could  hardly  escape  injury  from  the  very  de- 
generacy into  which  prophecy  had  fallen.     Yet  even  apart 

1  The  apocalyptical  literature  was  "  an  evil  inheritance  which  the  Christians 
took  over  from  the  Jews"  ;  yet  "these  ideas  encircled  the  earliest  Christen- 
dom as  with  a  wall  of  fire,  and  preserved  it  from  a  too  early  contact  with  the 
world  "  (Harnack,  History  of  Dogma,  i.,  p.  101  and  n.  3). 

71 


Introduction 


The  Messages  of  the 


Prophecy 
rather  than 
apocalypse 
has  a  per- 
manent 
value 


Religious 
value  of 
eschatology 


from  critical  inquiries  which  might  lead  us  further  still, 
it  can  truly  be  said  that  there  is  in  the  gospels  far  more 
of  the  prophetic  than  of  the  apocalyptical  type,  and  that 
this  is  still  just  as  true  of  the  letters  of  Paul. 

The  fact  that  Christianity  arose  in  close  relation  to  the 
apocalypses  is  therefore  proof  rather  of  its  prophetic  nature 
than  of  the  superior  and  permanent  value  of  the  apocalyp- 
tical form.  In  fact,  it  is  from  prophecy  that  we  are  to 
expect  a  message  for  to-day,  and  from  apocalypses  only 
so  far  as  they  are  really  prophetic.  For  what  is  it  that  we 
want  from  a  prophet  ?  It  is  not  disclosures  of  mysterious 
matters  which  we  never  before  imagined  and  have  no 
means  of  verifying.  It  is  rather  assurance  in  regard  to 
the  reality  of  our  best  known  ideals  and  hopes.  We  want 
the  prophet  to  speak,  with  certainty  and  with  a  compelling 
authority,  of  God  and  righteousness  and  immortality.  It 
is  a  sense  of  the  reality  of  the  eternal  rather  than  a  sense- 
vision  of  heaven  and  the  future  that  a  prophet  should  im- 
part. Yet  it  remains  true  that  the  sense  of  the  reality  of 
eternal  things  is  inseparable  from  the  belief  in  their  future 
manifestation  and  evident  dominion.  In  other  words, 
eschatology  has  its  essential  worth  in  religious  faith.  Re- 
ligious history  supplies  abundant  proof  how  constantly  es- 
chatology furnishes  the  motive  that  gives  faith  its  victory 
over  the  world,  and  truth  and  justice  their  kingship  over 
the  heart. 

We  need  not  be  surprised  at  this.     Experience  furnishes 

72 


Apocalyptical  Writers  Introduction 

many  analogies.  One  who  lives  in  perilous  times,  who 
faces  national  or  personal  dangers,  experiences  an  intensi- 
fying of  his  powers,  and  not  infrequently  a  clarifying  of 
his  judgments.  A  reversal  of  his  estimates  of  people  and 
things,  a  sudden  realization  of  the  true  meaning  of  life, 
may  come  from  the  crisis,  and  one  who  has  always  lived  a 
worldly  life  may  be  able  all  at  once  to  look  at  his  life  in 
the  light  of  the  eternal.  The  truth  of  his  insight  will  re- 
main even  if  the  crisis  passes  and  the  catastrophe  is  averted. 
If  a  great  man  interprets  a  national  crisis  so  as  to  bring 
home  to  the  nation  its  true  ideals  and  destination  he  re- 
mains a  true  prophet  even  if  his  forecast  was  mistaken. 
Without  the  critical  situation  it  is  probable  that  the  great 
man  could  never  have  brought  so  much  truth  to  such  power- 
ful expression.  So  an  eschatology  is  not  to  be  judged  by 
a  simple  rule  of  agreement  with  facts,  but  rather  by  its 
fitness  under  the  circumstances  to  quicken  faith  in  God, 
to  stir  the  conscience  and  put  men's  wills  under  the  domi- 
nance of  ideal  motives,  to  give  a  living  sense  of  God  and 
eternity.  On  the  other  hand,  an  eschatology  without  an 
ideal  foundation,  in  which  curiosity  takes  the  place  of 
moral  seriousness,  which  seeks  to  compensate  for  want 
of  power  to  understand  and  control  the  present  life  by  the 
detail  with  which  it  describes  regions  above  and  below  and 
times  to  come,  is  of  little  value.  But  the  man  who  chooses 
the  future  instead  of  the  present  and  conquers  the  present 
by  the  future,  has  made  in  one  form,  in  the  form  often  most 

73 


Introduction  The  Messages  oj  the 

effective,  the  great  choice  of  the  eternal  instead  of  the 
transitory,  the  spiritual  instead  of  the  sensible.  Can  the 
choice  be  made  in  any  other  form  so  effectively  ?  l  In  the 
apocalypses  at  all  events  the  great  choice  is  made  in  this 
form,  and  they  are  of  value  to-day  just  so  far  as  they 
help  us  to  make  and  to  give  expression  to  that  choice. 
Their  message  for  us,  their  abiding  truth,  is  their  conquest 
of  self  and  the  world,  their  resolute  choice  of  the  part  of 
God  against  the  apparent  interests  of  the  hour,  the  spirit, 
at  its  highest,  of  martyrdom.  The  forms  which  this  truth 
shaped  for  itself  are  strange  to  us,  and  belong  wholly  to 
the  times  from  which  they  come.  But  as  they  were  always 
only  forms  of  a  certain  substance  of  faith,  they  rightly 
become  for  us  poetry,  and  we  find  their  value  only  in  the 
feelings  that  inspired  them. 

The  apocalypses  then  may  properly  be  read  either  in  a 
historical  spirit,  as  tracts  for  their  times,  disclosing  the 
inner  life  of  their  circle  and  age,  and  interpreted  by  cur- 
rent conditions  and  events,  or  in  a  devotional  spirit,  as 
essentially  a  form  of  religious  poetry,  through  which,  though 
the  form  is  often  grotesque,  one  can  still  feel  the  pulsa- 
tions of  a  true  faith  in  God  and  in  the  blessed  life  to  come. 
The  historian  has  no  fault  to  find  with  such  a  free  poetic 

1  "  The  history  of  religion  proves  that  the  greater  the  moral  energy  with 
which  a  religious  community  strives  to  realize  its  ideals,  and  the  higher  those 
ideals  themselves,  the  more  easily  it  despairs  of  the  present,  the  more  urgently 
it  longs  for  the  immediate  coming  of  God." — Lucius,  Essenismus,  p.  130. 

74 


Apocalyptical  Writers  Introduction 

reading  of  the  apocalypses  as  this.  Such  reading  is  funda- 
mentally in  accord  with  the  essential,  even  if  unconscious, 
nature  of  the  books.  The  use  which  the  historian  rejects 
is  that  by  which  men  still  seek  to  find  the  time  and  course 
of  events  still  future,  or  the  literal  structure  and  contents 
of  the  unseen  world.  Not  for  theology,  but  on  the  one 
hand,  for  history,  and  on  the  other — so  far  as  it  is  worthy 
— for  the  liturgical  and  devotional  expression  of  religious 
faith  and  hope,  does  the  apocalypse  fulfil  a  mission  for 
to-day. 


75 


THE   BOOK   OF   DANIEL 


THE   BOOK   OF    DANIEL 
I 

INTRODUCTION    TO     THE     BOOK    OF    DANIEL 

i.  The  Jews  under  Greek  Rule 

After  our  study  of  the  nature  of  apocalyptical  literature  Daniel  a  tract 
in  general,  we  need  as  a  special  introduction  to  the  reading  ort  etxmes 
of  Daniel  chiefly  a  history  of  the  crisis  that  called  it  forth. 
The  book  was  distinctly  a  tract  for  the  times,  and  we  can 
best  understand  it  by  understanding  its  times. 

After  two  centuries  of  Persian  rule,  with  the  conquest  The  Jews 
of  Alexander  the  Great,  Palestine  came  under  Greek  ™ieer  r 
power  (332  B.  C).  In  the  division  of  Alexander's  kingdom 
after  his  death  Ccele-Syria,  in  which  Judea  was  included, 
lying  between  Egypt  and  Syria,  was  an  object  of  dispute 
between  the  Ptolemies  and  the  Seleucids  as  long  as  the 
two  kingdoms  endured.  For  the  most  part  the  Ptolemies 
kept  possession  of  it  for  a  century,  until  Antiochus  III,  the 
Great,  finally  conquered  it  for  Syria  (198  B.  C.). 

We  know  far  less  than  we  would  like  to  know  about 
the  inner  history  of  the  Jews  during  this  period  It  was 
the  policy  of  Alexander  and  his  successors  not  only  to  rule 

79 


The  Messages  oj  the 


Jewish 
parties  for 
and  against 
Hellenism 


Jewish  polit- 
ical parties 


over  conquered  territories  and  collect  taxes,  but  to  intro- 
duce Greek  colonists,  to  build  Greek  cities,  and  to  attempt 
to  make  a  fully  Hellenic  culture  prevail.  Hellenism  was 
indeed  in  its  nature  a  permeating  and  transforming  force. 
In  the  face  of  such  an  attempt  the  Jews  would  inevita- 
bly fall  into  two  parties :  those  who  favored  Greek  cul- 
ture, either  because  of  its  attractiveness  or  because  this 
was  the  way  to  personal  advancement,  and  those  who 
remained  faithful  to  ancestral  laws  and  customs,  and  re- 
sisted heathenism  the  more  stoutly  because  its  form  was 
more  alluring.  At  the  head  of  the  latter  class,  as  the 
special  representatives  of  genuine,  exclusive  Judaism, 
were  the  Chasidim,  or  Pious.  But  the  attractions  of  the 
new  culture  would  be  felt  by  many  ;  more  strongly  no 
doubt  in  Jerusalem  than  in  the  country,  and  by  men  of 
wealth  and  power  more  than  by  the  common  people.  At 
the  head  of  this  class  stood  the  priests,  the  real  aristocracy 
of  Judaism,  who  were  under  a  strong  temptation  to  ad- 
vance their  own  interests  by  falling  in  with  the  wishes  of 
the  Greek  rulers. 

Another  line  of  cleavage  was  probably  made  by  the 
rivalry  of  the  Ptolemies  and  the  Seleucids  for  the  posses- 
sion of  Ccele-Syria.  Its  conquest  by  Antiochus  the  Great 
was  doubtless  welcomed  by  some  Jews  and  disliked  by 
others.  Some  of  the  party  friendly  to  Hellenism  would 
seek  to  further  themselves  by  siding  with  the  new  power 
of  Syria ;  some  would  hold  to  Egypt  in  the  hope  that  it 

80 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

would  soon  regain  its  lost  possession.  We  shall  see  that 
it  was  these  two  oppositions,  the  fundamental  conflict  in 
principle  between  the  Hellenizers  and  the  Legalists,  and 
the  rivalry  in  politics  between  the  Egyptian  and  the  Syrian 
sympathizers,  that  occasioned  the  assault  of  Antiochus  IV 
upon  the  Jewish  religion,  and  so  called  forth  the  crisis  of 
which  the  Book  of  Daniel  was  a  product. 

We  must  take  account  further  of  the  situation  and  nature  Position  and 
of  Judaism  at  this  time,  before  we  turn  to  the  efforts  and  Judaism™ 
character  of  Antiochus  himself,  if  we  would  understand 
this  epoch-making  crisis.  Judea  was  the  only  Jewish 
land,  Jerusalem  its  only  city.  In  it  and  about  it  for  only 
a  few  miles  the  majority  of  Jews  lived.  Galilee  was  still 
a  heathen  land.  Small  Jewish  communities  were  scattered 
about  there  and  east  of  the  Jordan,  and  there  were  prob- 
ably a  good  many  Jews  in  Egypt,  and  some  in  other  parts 
of  the  Greek  world.  That  Egypt  had  become  almost  a 
second  native  land  of  Judaism  under  the  Ptolemies  is  a 
fact  that  may  have  strengthened  the  Ptolemaic  party  in 
Judea.  But  though  a  small  and  scattered  people,  the  Jews 
had  two  possessions  of  which  they  had  a  right  to  be  proud- 
One  was  the  temple,  justly  famous  as  one  of  the  richest 
temples  in  the  world,  honored  by  heathen  rulers  with 
large  gifts.  This  must  have  been  the  glory  and  support 
of  Jews  wherever  they  went.  In  one  thing  only  they 
gloried  more,  the  Law,  which  not  only  prescribed  the 
priestly  ritual  of  the  temple,  but  ordered  the  daily  life  of 

8r 


The  Messages  oj  the 

the  individual,  and  set  the  Jews,  wherever  they  might  be, 
evidently  apart  from  other  men,  and — who  could  deny 
it? — evidently  above  others.  For  they  were  distinguished 
not  only  by  Sabbath  observance  and  various  peculiarities 
as  to  food  and  behavior,  but  by  a  strict  monotheism  which 
forbade  their  taking  part  in  religious  ceremonies  other  than 
their  own,  and  by  a  conspicuous  moral  rectitude  and 
purity.  We  know  that  back  of  these  outward  marks  the 
Jews  possessed  a  spiritual  treasure  of  inestimable  worth, 
a  religious  literature  superior  to  any  other  in  the  world, 
memories  of  a  great  past,  and  a  hope  so  high  as  to  seem 
almost  insane,  the  hope  not  only  of  national  independence, 
but  of  dominance  over  the  world. 

2.  Character  and  Career  oj  Antiochus  IV 

The  youth  of  What  now  of  the  deeds  and  nature  of  the  king  who  ap- 
inRomeUS  pears  in  Daniel  as  the  final  and  supreme  embodiment  of 
the  rule  of  evil,  Antiochus  IV,  called  Epiphanes?  He 
was  a  younger  son  of  Antiochus  the  Great,  who  after  vast 
conquests  which  threatened  the  Roman  empire  itself,  was 
crushed  by  Rome  and  compelled  to  relinquish  almost  all 
his  gains  except  Ccele-Syria,  and  besides  to  pay  a  great 
annual  tribute  to  his  conquerors.  This  son  was  sent  by 
his  father  to  Rome  as  a  hostage  in  the  winter  of  190- 
189  B.  C,  and  there  grew  from  boyhood  to  young  man- 
hood, while  his  older  brother  succeeded  to  the  throne  of 
Syria   (Seleucus  IV,  188-176  B.  C).     Toward  the  end 

82 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

of  the  reign  of  Seleucus  the  Romans  compelled  him  to  Release  and 
send  his  own  son  and  heir,  Demetrius,  as  a  hostage,  and  thefcone t0 
released  Antiochus,  who  took  away  with  him  an  intense 
hatred  of  Rome  and  a  love  of  Hellenism  which  charac- 
terized him  all  his  life.  On  his  release  he  went  to  Athens 
and  even  became  chief  magistrate  of  the  city.  Soon,  how- 
ever, Seleucus  was  murdered  by  his  chief  minister,  He- 
liodorus,  who  perhaps  made  an  infant  son  of  Seleucus 
nominal  king.  Antiochus  at  once  left  Athens  and  suc- 
ceeded in  securing  the  throne  for  himself,  putting  the  young 
king  out  of  the  way.  Rome  thought  best  still  to  retain 
Demetrius,  the  direct  heir.1  So,  as  Daniel  says  (n  :  21-22), 
Antiochus  came  to  the  throne  by  guile,  not  by  right ; 
and  it  could  also  be  said  that  he  displaced  three  kings 
(7:8,  20,  24),  though  it  is  not  certain  whether  Heliodorus 
is  included,  or  whether  Seleucus  and  his  two  sons,  the 
exiled  Demetrius  and  the  murdered  infant,  are  intended, 
or  Demetrius  and  the  Egyptian  Ptolemy  Philometor,  son 
of  the  sister  of  Antiochus,  Cleopatra,  for  whom,  it  seems, 
the  throne  of  Syria  was  claimed. 

Not  long  after  his  accession  his  sister  Cleopatra,  queen  His  first 
of  Egypt,  died  (173  B.  C),  and  the  regents  proposed  to  campaign 
claim  for  her  young  son  Ptolemy  Philometor  the  posses- 
sion of  Coele-Syria.     Antiochus  seems  at  first  to  have  de- 
fended himself  against  these  encroachments,  but  his  suc- 
cesses carried  him  into  Egypt  itself.     He  got  possession 

1  He  finally  escaped  from  Rome  and  gained  his  throne  (162-150  B.  C.) 

83 


The  Messages  oj  the 

of  the  person  of  the  young  king,  his  nephew,  made  Mem- 
phis his  capitol  and  then  proceeded  against  Alexandria, 
where  the  younger  brother  of  Philometor  was  set  up  as 
king.  Antiochus  laid  siege  to  Alexandria,  but  for  some 
reason  did  not  push  this  attempt  to  an  end.  He  went  back 
to  his  own  land  in  glory  and  pride,  leaving  Philometor  as 
king,  or  associate,  in  Memphis,  and  a  garrison  of  Syrian 
troops  in  Pelusium.  This  first  Egyptian  campaign  took 
place  in  170,  or  possibly  in  169  B.  C.  It  is  summarized 
in  First  Maccabees  (1  :  16-19),  and  in  Daniel  (11  :  25-27), 
and  more  fully  narrated  by  Polybius.  In  Daniel  (11  :  28) 
we  read  that  on  his  return  he  gave  expression  in  some  way 
to  a  deep  feeling  of  hostility  against  the  Jewish  religion. 
According  to  First  Maccabees  (1 :  20-28)  it  was  at  this 
time  that  he  entered  the  temple  and  plundered  it  of  its 
sacred  vessels  and  of  the  gold  that  adorned  it  and  the 
treasures  deposited  there  for  safe-keeping.  It  is  possible 
that  this  is  the  act  of  violence  described  in  Second  Mac- 
cabees (5  :  11-20)  as  following  the  second  Egyptian  inva- 
sion, and  as  due  to  an  insurrection  that  took  place  upon 
the  rumor  that  Antiochus  was  dead. 
The  second  Antiochus  must  soon  return  to  secure  his  gains  in  Egypt, 
ofmpafgn  f°r  the  two  brothers  had  come  to  an  agreement  and  united 
against  his  pretensions.  In  the  spring  of  168  B.  C,  he 
made  what  was  probably  his  second  and  last  Egyptian 
expedition.  He  was  met  by  petitions,  but  by  no  serious 
opposition,  either  by  sea  or  land,  and  the  end  of  the  king- 

84 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

dom  of  the  Ptolemies,  the  incorporation  of  Egypt  into  the 
Syrian  empire,  seemed  close  at  hand. 

Just  then  occurred  an  event  of  great  import,  the  fall  of  The  interfer- 
the  Greek  Macedonian  empire,  under  King  Perseus,  at  Rome* 
the  hand  of  Rome,  in  the  battle  of  Pydna  (June  22,  168 
B.  C).  This  victory  left  Rome  free  to  interfere  in  Egypt 
and  made  its  interference  effectual.  That  Syria  should 
absorb  Egypt  could  not  be  at  all  according  to  the  mind 
of  Rome  after  it  had  once  broken  the  Syrian  power,  when 
for  a  time  under  Antiochus  III,  it  rivalled  its  own.  Im- 
mediately after  the  victory  of  Pydna  a  Roman  embassy 
went  to  Egypt  and  stopped  Antiochus  in  his  victorious 
march  toward  Alexandria.  The  head  of  the  embassy, 
Popilius,  handed  the  king  the  decree  of  the  senate,  requir- 
ing his  complete  withdrawal  from  Egypt,  and  drawing  a 
circle  around  him  demanded  an  answer  before  he  left  it. 
Under  the  impression  of  the  power  of  Rome  which  the  fall 
of  Macedonia  produced  Antiochus  wisely  decided  to  yield. 
He  returned  to  Syria  "  in  high  dudgeon  indeed  and  groan- 
ing in  spirit,  but  yielding  to  the  necessities  of  the  time,"  l 
and  one  of  his  first  deeds  appears  to  have  been  the  assault 
upon  the  Jewish  religion,  which,  though  it  probably  seemed 
to  him  a  little  thing,  proved  to  be  of  truly  epoch-making 
significance.2  It  outweighed  a  hundred-fold  all  other  events 
of  his  life  in  its  influence  on  human  history. 

Before  asking  after  the  reasons  for  this  attempt  and  its 

1  Polybius.  2  See  Dan.  11  :  29-30. 

85 


The  Messages  of  the 

Last  events  effects,  we  may  briefly  sketch  the  remaining  events  of  An- 
Ant^chus01  tiochus's  career.  Though  the  great  prize  he  had  really 
won  had  been  snatched  from  his  hands,  he  had  demon- 
strated his  power,  and  seems  really  to  have  strengthened 
his  kingdom  in  various  directions.  Hence  he  determined 
to  celebrate  his  victories  in  a  great  festival  at  Daphne,  near 
Antioch.  This  did  not  take  place  until  perhaps  the  spring 
of  1 66  B.  C.  The  ceremonies  lasted  for  thirty  days  and 
were  followed  by  further  feastings  and  revelries.  Soon 
after  this,  perhaps  in  the  summer  of  166  B.  C,  Antiochus 
made  a  great  campaign  eastward  and  sought  to  reconquer 
the  Parthians,  whom  Antiochus  III  had  subdued.1  He 
might  hope  to  extend  his  kingdom  in  this  direction  though 
Rome  blocked  his  way  in  Egypt  and  the  west.  The  mag- 
nitude of  his  undertaking  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  he  gave 
his  young  son  the  title  king,  appointed  a  guardian  and 
regent  during  his  absence,  Lycias,  and  took  with  him  the 
greater  part  of  his  army.  Of  this  campaign  little  is  known. 
He  appears  to  have  had  many  successes  but  his  course 
was  ended  by  death  due  to  disease,  attributed  by  some 
to  his  violation  of  a  Greek  sanctuary  for  the  sake  of  gold. 
His  What  was  the  real  character  of  this  king  who  through 

his  attack  upon  the  Jewish  religion,  and  through  the  Book 
of  Daniel,  became  the  type  of  Antichrist,  the  incarnation 

1  With  characteristic  boastfulness  the  Jewish  writer  in  i  Mac.  3  :  27  ff., 
affirms  that  Antiochus  undertook  this  expedition  in  order  to  get  money  to  carry 
on  the  war  with  Judas. 

86 


character 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

in  a  man  of  the  spirit  of  the  world-kingdom  in  its  hostility 
to  the  kingdom  of  God  ?  According  to  the  writer  of  Dan- 
iel, who  was  a  contemporary,  though  of  course  a  highly 
prejudiced  witness,  this  "contemptible  person"  was  char- 
acterized by  two  ruling  qualities,  a  deceitful  plausibil- 
ity by  which  he  concealed  his  feelings  and  purposes  and 
gained  his  ends  by  cunning,  and  an  overwhelming  con- 
ceit and  arrogance,  shown  most  of  all  in  his  shameless 
assumption  of  divine  rank,  and  his  sacrilegious  audacity 
in  suppressing  other  religions  than  his  own,  and  of  course 
most  of  all  in  lifting  his  hand  against  Jehovah.1  From 
Polybius,  who  was  also  a  contemporary,  we  get  a  some- 
what different  impression,  though  craftiness  and  pre- 
sumption are  not  lacking  in  his  description.  From  him 
we  learn  that  Antiochus,  though  a  master  of  dissimulation, 
was  also  a  man  of  an  impulsive  and  capricious  nature. 
The  writer  of  First  Maccabees  represents  him  as  saying 
at  the  end  of  his  life,  "I  was  gracious  and  beloved  in  my 
power"; 2  and  in  some  measure  this  may  have  been  true. 
He  was  a  man  of  energy  and  ambition,  attempting  mag- 
nificent things  in  war  and  in  art,  and  accomplishing  much. 
His  ruling  passion  was  Hellenic  life  and  Hellenic  culture 
in  its  external  aspects,  and  he  aimed,  as  Alexander  had 
done,  to  make  Hellenism  the  dominant  and  unifying  ele- 
ment throughout  his  realm.     He  made  gifts  of  splendid 

1  See  Dan.  7  :  8,  20-21,  24-25;  8  : 0-12,  23-25;  11 :  21  ff.   Cf .  1  Mac.  1 :  41-43. 

2  i  Mac.  6  :  11. 

87 


The  Messages  of  the 

buildings,  temples,  altars,  colonnades,  to  Athens  and  to 
many  other  cities.  His  whims  and  his  extravagances 
more  than  offset  his  good  qualities.  He  seemed  to  ob- 
servers at  times  a  high-souled  king  with  cultivated  man- 
ners, and  then  again  so  eccentric  as  to  be  almost  crazy. 
Polybius  describes  some  of  his  fantastic  antics  as  he  would 
steal  from  court  and  mingle  with  the  gossip  and  revelry 
of  the  street.  He  loved  pomp  and  display,  yet  disliked 
the  solemnity  of  court  life.  His  festival  of  triumph  at 
Daphne  was  magnificent,  but  his  conduct  there  was  not 
only  informal  but  indecent,  so  that  people  seeing  the  splen- 
dor and  extravagance  of  the  show  and  the  contemptible 
conduct  of  the  king,  could  hardly  believe  that  so  much 
virtue  and  vice  could  exist  in  one  nature.  We  can  see 
his  face  on  a  number  of  his  coins,1  and  can  perhaps  feel 
something  of  the  fascination  and  waywardness  of  his 
His  assump-  character.  The  face,  however,  is  idealized  after  the  type 
dignify  at  first  of  Apollo  and  then  even  of  Zeus,  and  the  star  or 
diadem  of  rays  indicates  the  divine  rank  he  assumed.  The 
inscriptions  show  the  meaning  of  his  title  Epiphanes,  which 
might  by  itself  mean  Illustrious.  Here  it  reads  Theos 
Epiphanes,  God  Manifest.  The  title  had  indeed  been 
adopted  by  an  earlier  Greek  king,  Ptolemy  V  (205-182 
B.C.),  and  the  claim  of  deity  was  common  to  the  Greek 
rulers  of  Egypt  and  Syria  from  Alexander  himself  onward. 
But  Antiochus  seems  to  have  pushed  this  ruler-worship 

1  See  Driver's  Daniel,  pp.  191-92. 

88 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

further  than  his  predecessors.  The  word  "god"  appears 
first  on  his  coins.  This  imperial  cult  was  regarded  as 
a  useful  means  of  unifying  a  diverse  empire,  and  was 
adopted  first  in  this  same  eastern  region  and  for  the  same 
purpose  by  the  Roman  emperors  We  shall  see  of  what 
central  significance  it  was  in  the  production  of  the  New 
Testament  Apocalypse.  In  judging  it  we  must  not  forget 
that  none  of  the  eastern  peoples  made  any  objection  to  it 
except  the  Jews.  All  but  Jews  could  worship  the  king 
and  still  keep  their  ancestral  faiths  and  rites.  Indeed, 
the  Hellenizing  process,  of  which  this  was  a  part,  was  wel- 
comed by  most  communities  as  a  favor  ;  and  what  is  still 
more  significant,  the  Hellenization  of  Jerusalem  itself 
was  first  begged  of  Antiochus  as  a  privilege  by  the  Jewish 
aristocracy  headed  by  the  high-priest.1 

Turning  back  now  to  the  events  in  his  career  that  chiefly  Relations  of 
concern  us  we  have  to  ask  why  Antiochus  plundered  the  ^ jews" t0 
temple  on  his  first  return  from  Egypt,  and  spent  the  force 
of  his  disappointment  and  indignation  on  his  second  re- 
turn in  an  effort  to  crush  out  the  Jewish  religion.  In 
spite  of  much  obscurity  in  details  it  is  not  difficult  to  come 
to  some  understanding  as  to  the  main  problem.  Ccele- 
Syria  was  the  region  for  which  Antiochus  had  first  under- 
taken his  Egyptian  expedition,  and  it  was  probably  the 
Jews  who  more  than  all  others  made  his  hold  on  this  im- 
portant part  of  his  realm  insecure.     If  he  could  have  kept 

1  i  Mac  i  :  11-15 ;  2  Mac.  4  :  7-17. 

89 


The  Messages  oj  the 

even  one  garrisoned  fortress  in  Egypt  he  might  have  felt 
safe,  but  having  lost  even  this  he  must  take  the  greater 
pains  to  make  the  region  itself  a  loyal  and  peaceful  part 
of  his  domain.  The  best  way  to  accomplish  this,  An- 
tiochus  thought,  as  Alexander  thought  before  him,  was  to 
Hellenize  the  region,  to  give  it  the  benefits  of  Greek  cult- 
ure. Other  oriental  peoples  regarded  this  policy  with 
acquiescence,  or  even  with  favor  Only  the  Jews  resisted 
it,  or  rather,  as  Antiochus  thought,  and  was  really  justified 
in  thinking,  only  a  part  of  the  Jews.  What  was  more 
natural  than  that  he  should  believe  that  by  giving  the 
high-priesthood  and  other  places  of  power  to  Jews  of  his 
own  party,  and  getting  rid  of  the  adherents  of  Ptolemy, 
and  by  rooting  out  by  force  the  stubborn  and  unreasonable 
superstition  which  stood  in  the  way  of  the  introduction  of 
the  Greek  manner  of  life,  he  could  amalgamate  this  region 
with  the  rest  of  his  kingdom.  It  has  been  suggested  that 
the  Jews  may  have  hindered  his  preparations  for  his  last 
Egyptian  campaign,  and  that  he  laid  its  failure  to  their 
account,  since  if  he  had  been  a  few  days  earlier  he  might 
have  been  in  possession  of  Alexandria  before  the  Romans 
could  interfere.1  But  perhaps  it  is  not  necessary  to  sup- 
pose so  definite  an  offence.  The  Ptolemaic  party  was 
doubtless  strong  in  Judea.  The  heavy  burden  of  the 
Roman  tribute  which  Antiochus  III  had  bequeathed  to 
his  successors  must  have  made  the  Seleucid  rule  oppres- 

1  Mahaffy,  Empire  of  the  Ptolemies,  p.  341. 
90 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

sive  and  unpopular.  Yet  there  was  a  strong  Syrian  party. 
It  was  called  the  party  of  the  Tobiadae,  or  the  Sons  of 
Tobias.  Its  origin  is  obscure.  It  appears  that  soon  after 
his  accession  Antiochus  deposed  the  high-priest  Onias 
(III  ?)  and  gave  the  office  to  Jason,  a  brother  of  Onias, 
who  promised  larger  tribute.  Jason  seems  to  have  been,  in 
contrast  to  Onias,  an  adherent  of  Syrian  against  Egyptian 
rule,  and  was  also  a  zealous  Hellenizer.  He  asked  permis- 
sion to  build  a  gymnasium  in  Jerusalem  and  to  make  it  one 
of  the  Antiochs.  He  even  sent  gifts  to  Tyre  for  a  sacrifice 
to  Hercules.  Yet  about  171  B.  C.  Antiochus  displaced 
Jason  and  put  Menelaus  in  the  high-priesthood,  though 
he  was  not  even  of  priestly  family.  Menelaus  is  said  to 
have  secured  the  murder  of  Onias.1  Even  if  this  is  not 
historical  it  could  be  said  that  the  year  171  marked  the 
breaking  off  of  the  legitimate  high -priesthood.2  During 
one  of  the  campaigns  of  Antiochus  in  Egypt,  perhaps  at  a 
rumor  of  his  death,  Jason  returned  to  Jerusalem,  im- 
prisoned Menelaus,  and  had  the  city  in  his  power.  He 
could  not  maintain  himself,  however,  but  was  obliged  to 
flee,  either  through  a  popular  movement  or  by  the  ap- 
proach of  Antiochus.  Some  think  that  Onias  was  still 
living  and  that  he  also  took  the  opportunity  of  seeking  to 
regain  his  office,  but  that  before  the  coming  of  Antiochus 
he  fled  to  Egypt  with  a  band  of  his  followers,  and  there 
carried  his  claims  to  be  the  lawful  high -priest  to  the  point 

1  2  Mac.  4  :  32-38.  2  Dan.  9  :  26 ;  n  :  22. 

91 


The  Messages  oj  the 

of  building  a  rival  temple  at  Leontopolis.  Some,  how- 
ever, think  that  this  temple  was  built  rather  by  Onias  IV, 
a  son  of  the  murdered  Onias  III.  In  any  case,  the  build- 
ing of  this  second  temple,  in  spite  of  Deuteronomy  and 
tradition,  not  in  Jerusalem,  nor  even  in  the  holy  land,  but 
in  a  foreign  country,  and  the  fact  that  it  had  a  certain 
recognition  by  orthodox  Jews,  and  lasted  for  more  than 
two  centuries  (about  170  B.  C.  to  73  A.  D.),  is  a  most  sig- 
nificant phenomenon.  It  is  evidence  of  the  depth  of  the 
cleft  that  divided  Judaism  at  this  crisis.  It  may  have  been 
built  at  the  time  when  the  temple  at  Jerusalem  was  a  temple 
of  Zeus,  but  it  could  not  have  been  sustained  if  there  had 
not  been  many  Jews  who  preferred  to  maintain  the  legiti- 
mate high-priestly  line  in  a  foreign  land,  rather  than  sub- 
mit to  an  illegal  high-priesthood  at  the  legitimate  temple. 
It  is  little  wonder  that  Antiochus  should  think  the  Jeru- 
salemites  deserving  of  chastisement  and  should  consider 
this  obstinate  nation,  with  its  deep  prejudices  and  its  hot 
party  strifes,  dangerous  to  the  security  of  this  disputed  and 
important  part  of  his  realm.  But  he  was  supported  in  his 
efforts  by  leaders  among  the  Jews  themselves,  and  it  is 
not  likely  that  he  anticipated  any  serious  opposition.  He 
may  well  have  supposed  that  he  was  acting  not  with  hos- 
tility to  the  Jewish  nation  itself,  but  for  its  interests  as  well 
as  his  own,  and  in  accordance  with  the  wishes  of  its  ruling 
party.1    The  actual  desecration  of  the  temple  and  the 

1  See  Dan.  11  :  30-32. 
92 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

persecution  and  war  against  the  Jews  were  not  conducted 
by  Antiochus  in  person,  and  we  cannot  be  sure  that  he 
intended  the  horrors  that  ensued.  These  may  in  part  have 
been  due  to  the  spite  and  love  of  plunder  of  subordinate 
officers.  According  to  one  account  (2  Mac.  9  :  13-17), 
Antiochus,  just  before  his  death,  resolved  to  grant  to  the 
Jews  religious  freedom  and  the  restoration  of  their  tem- 
ple. Those  who  put  weight  on  Second  Maccabees  think 
it  possible,  therefore,  that  the  recovery  of  the  temple  was 
not  an  achievement  of  Judas,  but  a  concession  of  Antio- 
chus.1 This  is  improbable.  It  is  true,  however,  that  with 
all  the  zeal  of  Antiochus  for  the  introduction  of  Hellenism, 
it  would  have  been  more  in  accordance  with  his  character, 
if  he  had  used  flattery  and  persuasion  rather  than  force  to 
reach  his  end.  And  if  he  had  not  left  the  matter  to  sub- 
ordinates in  his  absence,  and  if  his  death  had  not  inter- 
vened, it  is  probable  that  he  would  have  made  timely  con- 
cessions, and  would  not  have  allowed  his  efforts  to  unify 
and  strengthen  his  realm  to  result  in  a  serious  breach  and 
loss. 

The  Book  of  Daniel  gives  us  only  a  brief  summary  of  The  desecra- 
the  events  that  followed — the  desecration  of  the  temple  temple  and 
(11 :  31;  cf.  7  :  25  ;  8  :  11-14 ;  9  :  27),  the  apostasy  of  many  Pfejee™tlon 
Jews  and  the  persecution  of  those  who  stood  fast  (11  :  32- 
t,^),  the  hint  of  the  beginning  of  the  resistance  under  Judas 
Maccabeus,  which  is  only  half  approved    (11 :  34),    and 

1  Niese  and  Bevan. 

93 


The  Messages  of  the 

the  promise  of  the  approaching  end  of  Antiochus  and  the 
Greek  empire,  and  the  glorious  vindication  of  those  who 
suffer  and  even  die  for  their  faith  in  the  coming  reign  of 
God  (n  :  35  ff.).  But  though  its  narrative  of  these  events 
is  brief  the  whole  book  is  a  direct  witness  of  the  feelings 
stirred  by  the  events,  and  the  spirit  that  was  called  out  by 
them.  If  we  would  realize  the  greatness  of  the  Book  of 
Daniel  we  should  ask  ourselves  the  question,  what  would 
have  been  the  history  of  religion  in  the  world,  and  what 
would  have  been  our  own  religious  condition,  if  the  effort 
of  Antiochus  to  extirpate  Judaism  had  succeeded,  and 
then  realize  that  the  faith  and  hope  which  this  book  ex- 
presses and  which  it  must  have  greatly  increased,  was  the 
only  thing  that  stood  in  the  way  of  his  success.  Of  course, 
without  Judas  Maccabeus,  those  who  shared  the  faith  and 
hope  of  Daniel  could  have  been  crushed  out,  but  with- 
out this  faith  and  hope  the  victories  of  Judas  would  have 
been  wholly  impossible. 
Details  in  For  more  details  about  the  persecution  and  about  the 
and  Second  achievements  of  Judas  we  must  turn  to  First  Maccabees, 
Maccabees  ancj  wj|-n  jess  confidence  to  Second  Maccabees.  From 
them  we  learn  that  beside  the  prohibition  of  the  temple 
offerings  and  the  profanation  of  the  temple  by  the  altar 
to  Zeus,  the  king  demanded  of  Jews  the  violation  of  Sab- 
bath and  feasts,  and  of  the  laws  of  purity,  and  especially 
required  as  evidence  of  conversion  to  Hellenism  the  sacri- 
fice and  eating  of  swine's  flesh,  the  omission  of  circum- 

94 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

cision,  and  taking  part  in  Greek  rites.  When  persuasion 
failed  force  was  used,  and  torture  and  death  were  the 
part  of  those  who  would  not  conform.  Although  we  can 
find  the  martyr  spirit  in  Jeremiah  and  in  the  literature  of 
the  exile  and  early  post-exilic  period,  it  can  still  be  said 
with  essential  truth  that  this  was  the  first  proper  religious 
persecution  that  the  Jews  had  ever  met,  and  that  this 
crisis  produced  not  only  a  new  type  of  literature,  the  apoca- 
lypse, but  a  new  type  of  religious  character,  the  martyr. 
The  apocalypse  is  indeed  primarily  the  embodiment  of 
the  faith  and  expectation  that  inspires  martyrdom,  and 
the  Book  of  Daniel  is,  in  the  line  of  our  own  religious  his- 
tory, the  first  book  which  has  the  support  and  praise  of 
martyrdom  as  its  special  aim.  The  New  Testament 
Apocalypse  has  precisely  the  same  ruling  motive. 

Non-resistance  was  at  first  the  policy  of  those  who  re-  Judas 
mained  faithful,  but  soon  the  spirit  of  resistance  arose  as 
a  leader  capable  of  resisting  appeared,  Judas  Maccabeus. 
His  exploits,  and  those  of  his  brothers  carry  us  beyond 
the  Book  of  Daniel,  and  to  tell  them  even  in  brief  would 
overpass  the  limits  of  this  sketch.  The  amazing  successes 
of  Judas  and  his  brothers  and  the  final  establishment  of 
an  independent  Jewish  kingdom,  which  yielded  only  after 
a  century,  and  then  not  to  Syria,  but  in  common  with 
Syria  to  Rome,  was  made  possible  only  by  a  number  of 
concurring  circumstances.  The  opportune  departure  of 
Antiochus  for  the  east  before  the  resistance  of  Judas  had 

95 


The  Messages  of  the 

become  serious,  and  his  death  there ;  the  rival  efforts  of  the 
two  generals,  Lycias  and  Phillip,  to  get  the  power  into 
their  hands,  and  later  rivalries  of  aspirants  to  the  throne, 
who  found  it  better  to  bid  for  the  favor  of  the  Jews  than 
to  attempt  their  overthrow ;  and  in  general  the  decline  of 
the  Syrian  empire  and  its  practical  dependence  on  Rome, 
— all  these  things  contributed  to  the  realization  of  what 
must  have  seemed  to  any  unprejudiced  on-looker  the  wild- 
est of  dreams,  the  political  independence  of  the  Jews. 
All  these  favoring  circumstances  would  indeed  have  been 
unavailing,  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  high  and  indomitable 
spirit  of  the  Jewish  people,  and  the  energy  and  capacity 
of  Judas  and  his  successors.  Of  the  latter  we  read  in 
the  Books  of  the  Maccabees  ;  but  the  spirit  of  Judaism 
as  this  emergency  revealed  it  is  best  embodied  in  the  Book 
of  Daniel,  which  is  therefore  not  only  a  source,  but  an 
important  part,  of  one  of  the  great  religious  crises  and 
turning-points  of  history.  Besides  this  epoch-marking  and 
epoch-making  book  it  is  probable  that  a  number  of  the 
Psalms  were  the  product  of  these  events,  and  breathe  the 
spirit  of  the  people.1  A  few  (Ps.  44,  74,  79,  83)  may  be 
nearly  contemporary  with  Daniel.  Many  more  may  fol- 
low, and  celebrate  the  successes  of  the  Maccabean  princes. 
The  Book  of  Daniel  most  directly  and  surely  reveals  the 

1  See  Driver,  The  Book  of  Daniel,  p.  xli,  "the  Psalms,  many  of  which  (espe- 
cially those  in  the  later  books)  certainly  date  from  this  period";  and  see  also 
McFadyen's  Messages  of  the  Psalmists,  pp.  24-25,  126-36. 

96 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

heart  of  Judaism  when  the  blow  first  fell  and  faith  could 
only  reach  after  a  purely  divine  and  miraculous  help. 

3.  Evidence  that  Daniel  belongs  to  the  Time  of  Antiochus 

Have  we  a  right  to  assume,  as  we  have  done,  that  the  General 
Book  of  Daniel  belongs  to  the  time  of  Antiochus  IV  ?  hSoricaf 
There  are  still  those  who  think  that  loyalty  to  the  Bible  students 
requires  them  to  apply  tests  and  follow  methods  with 
reference  to  its  books  which  they  would  not  regard  as  ap- 
plicable to  other  books.     But  those  who  believe  that  the 
books  of  the  Bible  are  historical  documents  are  practically 
at  one  in  their  acceptance  of  this  date.     Some  of  the  rea- 
sons for  this  substantially  unanimous  opinion  must  be 
briefly  summarized  here. 

The  book  in  various  ways  reveals  its  origin  in  the  time  Interest  of 
of  Antiochus,  and  more  exactly  in  the  time  after  his  dese-  culminates  in 
cration  of  the  temple  and  before  his  death,  and  probably  AntKus°f 
also  before  the  reconsecration  of  the  temple  (i.e.,  between 
December,  168,  and  December,  165  B.  C).     How  does  the 
writer  betray  himself  as  a  contemporary  of  these  events, 
though  he  writes  as  a  man  of  the  Exile  ?     Briefly  it  is  by 
his  relative  ignorance  about  the  events  of  the  Exile,  the 
increasing    accuracy  of   his    knowledge    from  Alexander 
onward,  and  the  fulness  of  detail  which  he  can  give  about 
the  character  and  the  career  of  Antiochus  IV,  up  to  the 
point  just  indicated,  the  desecration  of  the  temple  and  the 
persecution  of  the  Jews.     In  this  character  and  in  these 

97 


The  Messages  oj  the 

events  all  the  interest  of  the  writer  centres.     Here  he  finds 
the  culmination  of  the  power  of  evil  in  world  history.     He 
has  a  most  intense  interest  in  what  is  to  follow  after  this 
crisis,  but  of  this  he  gives  an  account  which  events  did  not 
confirm.    His  description  of  the  death  of  Antiochus  is  wholly 
mistaken,1  and  his  expectation  that  the  death  of  the  king 
would  be  the  end  of  the  Greek  world  empire  and  the  be- 
ginning of  the  Kingdom  of  God  and   of    God's    people 
Israel  was  of  course  disappointed.2 
Errors  prove      Some  details  will  illustrate  these  points.     According  to 
is  not  arTex-  Daniel  the  Babylonian  (Chaldean)  empire  fell  at  the  hands 
ilic  book       Q£  ^g  ]viecles,  and  a  Median  kingdom  under  Darius  in- 
Astothe        tervened  between  the  Chaldean  and  the  Persian.     The 
kingdom        second  kingdom  of  chapters  2  and  7  is  quite  certainly  the 
Median,  and  the  third  the  Persian  ;  and  it  is  expressly 
said  that  Darius  the  Mede  overthrew  the  Babylonian  king- 
dom and  succeeded  to  the  possession  of  it  (5  :  31),  and 
that  Cyrus  the  Pers'an  followed  after  him  (6  :  28).     The 
visions  of  chapters  7-12  take  place,  two  under  the  last 
king  of  Babylon,  one  under  Darius,  and  one  under  Cyrus. 

1  See  1 1  :  40-45  and  notes. 

2  In  a  certain  way  events  confirmed  the  faith  and  forecast  of  the  book. 
Antiochus  died  and  the  temple  was  restored,  and  after  a  little  the  Jews  gained 
independence.  These  things  could  serve  to  give  prestige  to  the  book,  but 
they  are  coincidences  of  a  wholly  different  sort  from  those  that  exist  between 
11  :  1-39  and  history.  The  point  at  which  the  writer  ceases  to  tell  of  things 
past,  under  the  form  and  device  of  vision,  and  begins  really  to  predict  the 
future  is  perfectly  marked. 

98 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

But  in  fact  there  was  no  Darius  the  Mede,  and  no  Median 
world  empire  between  the  Chaldean  and  the  Persian. 
Darius  I  was  a  Persian  successor  to  Cyrus  (522-485  L.  C). 
It  was  the  general  of  Cyrus,  Gobryas,  who  dealt  the  final 
blow  against  the  Babylonian  king  (539-538  B.  C),  and 
Cyrus  himself  entered  Babylon,  without  conflict,  soon 
after,  and  made  Gobryas  governor  of  Babylonia.  Proph- 
ecy had  expected  that  Babylon  would  be  overthrown  by  the 
Medes  (Isa.  13  :  17  ;  21 :  2  ;  Jer.  51 :  11,  28),  and  this  may 
account  for  our  writer's  error.  It  is  also  a  fact  that  the 
Medes  made  their  power  felt  in  world  history  earlier  than 
the  Persians.  Under  their  king  Cyaxares  (624-584  B.  C.) 
they  had  the  chief  part,  with  the  help  of  the  Babylonians, 
in  the  overthrow  of  Assyria.  Nineveh  fell  at  their  hands 
(606  B.  C).  But  the  Persian  power  under  Cyrus  had  al- 
ready conquered  and  dispossessed  the  Medes  before  it  over- 
threw the  Babylonians.  The  conception  of  Daniel  is  not 
difficult  to  account  for  in  the  case  of  a  writer  much  later 
than  the  events,  but  it  is  impossible  for  a  contemporary. 

Again  this  Darius  is  called  the  son  of  Ahasuerus  As  to  Darius 
(Xerxes),1  whereas  the  historical  Darius  I  was  father  of 
Xerxes,  who  succeeded  him  (485-465  B.  C).  Darius  did 
have  to  subdue  rebellions  in  Babylon  in  521  and  519  B.  C, 
and  features  of  these  events  may  possibly  be  found  in 
Daniel  5  and  6. 

Once  more,  Belshazzar  appears  in  Daniel  as  the  son 

1  Dan.  9  : 1. 

99 


The  Messages  oj  the 

and  Bel-  and  successor  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  reigning  at  least  three 
years  (8  :  i),  and  the  last  king  of  Babylon.  In  fact  four 
monarchs  succeeded  Nebuchadnezzar,  and  the  last  one, 
Nabunaid  (555-538  B.C.),  was  a  usurper,  not  of  the  royal 
line.  He  had  a  son,  Belsarusur,  who  appears  to  have 
been  at  the  head  of  the  army  in  northern  Babylonia  in 
the  middle  of  his  father's  reign.  He  was  never  king,  and 
it  is  not  known  that  he  had  any  important  part  in  connec- 
tion with  the  fall  of  Babylon. 

As  to  the  four      Again  it  appears  to  be  explicitly  said  that  there  were 

kings1  only  four  Persian  kings  in  all  (n  :  2-4),  the  last  of  whom 

seems  to  be  at  once  the  Xerxes  (485-464  B.  C.)  who  invaded 
Greece  and  the  Darius  III  whom  Alexander  the  Great 
subdued  in  i>33  B.  C.1 

Inferences  There  are  other  smaller  errors  which  confirm  the  judg- 
ment that  the  book  cannot  have  come  from  the  Exile,  such 
as  the  reference  to  the  deportation  of  Jehoiakim  in  his 
third  year  (1  :  1),  and  the  form  Nebuchadnezzar,  as  in 
Chronicles,  Ezra  and  Esther,  for  Nebuchadrezzar,  as  in 
Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel.  Errors  like  these  show  that  the 
course  of  tradition  after  the  events  was  a  long  one,  and 
make  it  impossible  for  us  to  assume  the  historical  actuality 
of  some  things  which  we  cannot  test,  such  as  the  madness 
of  Nebuchadnezzar  and  the  incidents  of  chapters  3  and  6. 
In  general  the  stories  of  Daniel  have  every  indication  of 

1  The  Old  Testament  in  fact  knows  four  names  of  Persian  kings — Cyrus, 
Darius,  Xerxes  and  Artaxerxes. 

IOO 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

being  freely  elaborated,  for  the  sake  of  admonition  and 
encouragement. 

In  contrast  to  the  writer's  errors  about  the  exilic  period  Positive  evi- 
is  the  fulness  and  accuracy  of  his  knowledge  about  the  jater  date 
successors  of  Alexander,  on  the  thrones  of  Syria  and 
Egypt.  Especially  chapter  n,  as  far  as  verse  39,  is  sim- The  visions 
ply  history,  and  at  some  points  supplements  the  knowl-  Antiochus 
edge  we  get  from  other  sources,  especially  in  regard  to 
Antiochus  IV.  Some  try  to  escape  the  inference  that 
Daniel  was  written  at  this  time  by  supposing  that  this 
chapter  is  a  later  Maccabean  addition  to  an  exilic  book. 
But  this  is  not  warranted  by  the  facts.  In  all  parts  of 
the  book  the  Greek  empire,  founded  by  Alexander  and 
divided  after  his  death,  appears  as  the  last  world  empire, 
after  which  the  Messianic  age  is  expected.  The  fourth 
kingdom  of  chapter  2,  partly  strong  and  partly  broken, 
is  the  great  but  divided  kingdom  of  Greece.  The  fourth 
beast  of  chapter  7  is  the  same  kingdom.  In  chapter  8  it 
is  expressly  named.  Moreover  everywhere,  though  with 
increasing  clearness  in  successive  visions,  this  last  world 
power  reaches  its  culmination  as  a  power  of  evil  in  An- 
tiochus IV.  He  is  the  little  horn  that  plucks  up  three 
others,  and  is  insolent  and  impious  (7  :  8,  20-21,  24-25). 
More  detailed  and  unmistakable  is  the  picture  of  him  in 
the  second  vision  (8  :  9-12,  23-25),  where  his  deceit  and 
pretence  are  described,  and  his  impious  deed  in  stopping 
the  daily  sacrifice  of  the  temple  and  desecrating  the  altar. 

101 


The  Messages  oj  the 

The  same  event   forms  the   climax  of  the  third  vision 
(9 :  26-27),  coming  at  the  end  of  sixty-nine  and  a  half  of 
the  seventy  weeks  from  the  Exile  to  the  Messianic  age. 
The  stories         But  not  only  do  all  the  visions  come  to  an  end  with 
reign  Antiochus  IV,  but  the  other  parts  of  the  book  also  per- 

fectly fit  the  same  crisis.  The  theme  of  the  first  story  is 
loyalty  to  the  Jewish  laws  regarding  food,  against  the  com- 
mand of  the  foreign  king.  Just  such  demands  were  made 
by  Antiochus  (1  Mac.  1  :  47  ;  2  Mac.  6  :  5,  8).  In  the  third 
story  the  worship  of  an  image  set  up  by  the  king  is  re- 
quired. So  Antiochus  demanded  of  Jews  participation  in 
the  Greek  cult,  and  especially  in  the  worship  of  the  image 
of  Zeus  and  of  his  own  image,  which  he  set  up  in  the 
temple  (1  Mac.  1  :  41-43,  47-48  ;  2  :  15  ff.  ;  2  Mac.  6  :  7). 
Nebuchadnezzar,  in  the  next  narrative,  is  humbled  be- 
cause of  his  proud  assumption  and  his  denial  of  God.  So 
Antiochus  had  exalted  himself  above  the  gods  and  refused 
to  recognize  the  supreme  God,  from  whom  he  received  his 
kingly  power.  Then  comes  the  judgment  of  God  revealed 
against  Belshazzar  in  the  midst  of  proud  and  sacrilegious 
revelry.  So  Antiochus  had  celebrated  his  victories  in 
luxurious  feasting  and  sensual  excesses  at  Daphne.1 
Darius,  in  the  sixth  story,  is  guilty  of  the  extreme  pre- 
sumption of  demanding  worship  in  the  place  of  God. 
Antiochus  called  himself  "God  Manifest,"  and  carried 

1  There  was  also  here  a  colossal  image  of  Zeus  which  may  have  influenced 
the  description  of  the  image  of  Nebuchadnezzar's  dream  (2  :  31  ff.). 

I02 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

emperor  worship  to  an  extreme.  It  is  evident  that  the 
stories  are  perfectly  adapted  to  the  crisis  to  which  all  the 
visions  point,  and  we  can  with  confidence  ascribe  the 
whole  book  to  this  date. 

This  does  not  mean  that  the  writer  invented  his  stories.  Possible  ele- 
He  probably  got  much  of  his  material  from  tradition,  tradition 
There  is,  indeed,  some  positive  evidence  that  this  was 
his  method.  Nebuchadnezzar,  Belshazzar  and  Darius 
are  not  mere  names  or  masks  for  Antiochus  Epiphanes. 
Antiochus  did  not  do  precisely  the  things  ascribed  to  these 
kings.  He  did,  however,  very  similar  things,  manifested 
the  same  arrogant  spirit,  and  attempted  the  same  cor- 
ruption of  Jewish  piety.  The  application  of  the  stories 
to  present  circumstances  would  have  been  easy  and  in- 
evitable. Some  disguise  was  of  course  necessary  if  a 
book  were  to  assail  the  ruling  power.  Here  the  disguise 
is  that  of  story  ;  in  the  later  chapters  it  is  that  of  vision  ; 
and  throughout  the  assumption  of  exilic  date  veils  the 
treasonable  teaching  of  the  book. 

The  stories,  then,  are  to  be  valued  not  as  fact,  but  for 
the  teaching  they  were  written  to  enforce.  Their  use  of 
tradition  does  not  signify  that  they  are  historical  in  char- 
acter. We  must  in  a  measure  suppress  our  modern  his- 
torical sense  in  order  to  appreciate  the  freedom  with  which 
history  was  adapted  and  story  invented,  and  history  and 
story  blended,  for  practical  religious  purposes.  We  can- 
not even  assume  that  there  was  a  Daniel  in  the  Exile. 

103 


The  Messages  of  the 

Ezekiel  (14 :  14,  20 ;  28 :  3)  refers  to  a  Daniel  who,  with 
Noah  and  Job,  was  a  proverbial  type  of  wisdom  and 
righteousness.  This  Daniel  could  not  have  been  a  living 
contemporary  of  Ezekiel.  Ezra  (8  :  2)  mentions  a  priest 
Daniel,  as  in  Ezra's  caravan,  and  among  his  contempo- 
raries, strangely  enough,  may  be  found  a  Mishael  (Neh. 
8 :  4),  Azariah  (Neh.  10 :  2  (3))  and  Hananiah  (Neh. 
10:23  (24)).  The  writer  may  possibly  have  found  the 
names  here,  and  transferred  them  to  the  Exile,  a  century 
earlier. 
Confirmatory  The  dating  of  Daniel  in  the  Maccabean  age  is  confirmed 
by  other  more  general  considerations.  There  is  no  evidence 
of  the  existence  of  the  book  or  of  its  influence  in  earlier 
writings.  Even  Ecclesiasticus  (about  190  B.  C.)  is  silent 
about  this  prophet.1  The  fact  that  its  place  is  in  the  Hagio- 
grapha,  not  in  the  prophetic  canon,  supports  its  late  origin. 
The  ideas  that  it  contains  belong  in  part  only  to  late  Juda- 
ism, especially  the  developed  angelology,  and  the  doctrine 
of  the  resurrection.  The  language  of  the  book  also  points 
to  the  same  conclusion.  There  are  many  Persian  words 
in  the  book,  and  a  few  Greek  words.  The  use  of  the  word 
"Chaldeans"  as  equivalent  to  soothsayers  or  magicians 
would  have  been  impossible  during  the  continuance  of 
the  Chaldean  kingdom  or  soon  after  its  fall. 

1  See  Ecclus.  49 :  6-10,  which  in  the  Hebrew  text  includes  Job. 


IO4 


Apocalyptical  Writers 


4.   The  Exact  Date 

That  the  book  was  written  before  and  not  after  the  Before  the 
reconsecration  of  the  temple  in  December,  165  B.  C,  is  Df  t hetempTe 
almost  universally  agreed.  The  dates  of  First  Maccabees 
are  usually  accepted.  Accordingly  the  daily  sacrifice  was 
stopped  on  the  15th  of  Kislev  (about  December),  168  B.  C, 
and  the  first  heathen  sacrifice  offered  on  the  25th.  The 
rededication  was  just  three  years  after  the  latter  date  (25 
Kislev,  165  B.  C).  The  death  of  Antiochus  appears  to 
be  about  half  a  year  later,  in  the  summer  of  164  B.  C. 
There  are  however  some  doubts  about  these  dates.  De- 
cember 25th  remained  the  date  of  the  yearly  Feast  of  Dedi- 
cation in  honor  of  Judas's  achievement.  But  this  feast 
falls  suspiciously  at  the  exact  time  of  the  wide-spread  cele- 
bration of  the  winter  solstice,  with  which  some  of  its  rites 
are  connected.1  It  is  possible  therefore,  as  in  the  case 
of  our  own  Christmas  festival  on  the  same  date,  that  the 
feast  gave  its  day  to  the  historical  event,  not  the  event  to 
the  feast.  That  the  date  was  shifted  may  be  indicated  by 
the  fact  that  First  Maccabees  itself  puts  the  primary  and 
greatest  catastrophe  ten  days  earlier.  In  Second  Macca- 
bees the  desecration  and  the  dedication  take  place  on  the 
same  day  (10 :  5),  but  the  interval  is  two  years  instead  of 
three  (10 :  3).     Josephus,  in  the  Jewish  Wars,  I,  1,  makes 

1  The  rekindling  of  fires  and  the  lighting  of  lamps.     See  2  Mac.  10:3; 
1: 18-23. 

105 


tiochus 


The  Messages  oj  the 

it  three  and  one-half  years,  but  perhaps  this  is  on  account 
of  Daniel.  The  death  of  Antiochus  is  another  uncertainty. 
It  is  not  unlikely  that  First  Maccabees  is  mistaken,  and 
that  his  death  took  place  in  the  winter  of  165-164,  or  at 
about  the  same  time  as  the  dedication.1  The  coincidence 
of  these  two  events  would  have  been  regarded  as  a  striking 
verification  of  the  prediction  of  Daniel. 
Before  the  But  the  book  was  quite  certainly  written  not  only  before 
paignofAn-  the  death  of  Antiochus,  but  before  he  started  on  his  great 
Eastern  campaign,  for  the  writer  would  not  have  passed 
by  an  undertaking  of  such  magnitude  in  his  sketch  of  the 
king's  career,  and  substituted  for  it  a  great  victorious  in- 
vasion of  Egypt  which  never  took  place  (11  :  40-45).  The 
Eastern  campaign  may  well  have  lasted  a  year  and  a  half 
before  the  death  of  Antiochus,  so  that  its  date  would  be 
the  summer  of  166  B.  C.  Now  if,  as  Niese  thinks,  Second 
Maccabees  is  right  in  making  the  period  of  desecration 
two  years,  its  beginning  would  be  in  December,  167  B.  C, 
and  the  Book  of  Daniel  would  appear  not  very  long  after 
it,  that  is,  during  the  first  half  of  166  B.  C;  or  if  the  des- 
ecration took  place  in  December,  168  B.  C,  the  book 
would  fall  in  the  year  and  a  half  following.  The  perse- 
cution was  a  new  and  crushing  experience  when  the  book 
appeared.  The  resistance  under  Judas  had  not  reached 
such  proportions  as  to  call  to  its  support  all  loyal  Jews. 
The  writer  does  not  seem  to  have  been  much  impressed 

1  So  Niese  argues. 
I06 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

by  it  (i  i :  34).  The  idea  of  resistance  does  not  enter  into 
his  conception  of  the  task  of  the  righteous  in  this  crisis. 
He  expects  only  persecution  and  counsels  only  endurance 
until  God  comes.  The  Chasidim,  to  whom  our  writer 
belonged,  can  hardly  have  joined  Judas  before  he  wrote.1 
If  the  book  was  written  not  long  after  the  desecration, 
and  the  writer  believed  it  would  last  three  years  and  a 
half,  then  there  would  be  the  greater  need  of  his  urgent 
admonition  to  endurance  even  to  death.  It  is  not  the  im- 
mediateness,  but  the  certainty  of  the  end  and  the  reward 
on  which  he  insists. 

I  have  dwelt  so  long  on  the  historical  crisis  of  which  Significance 
our  book  is  a  product,  not  only  because  it  is  the  most  torical  crisis 
essential  condition  for  a  right  understanding  of  the  book, 
but  because  the  crisis  itself  is  of  such  deep-going  and  far- 
reaching  significance.  The  whole  course  of  Jewish  his- 
tory and  the  character  of  the  Jewish  religion  during  the 
last  two  centuries  before  the  rise  of  Christianity  is  shaped 
and  determined  by  these  events.  We  are  standing  at  the 
birth  history  of  a  type  of  literature  and  a  type  of  piety,  in 
close  relation  with  which  Christianity  itself  arose.  This 
crisis  produced  a  century  of  national  independence  for 
the  Jews,  with  the  revival  of  national  ideals  and  efforts 
which  this  involved.  It  interrupted  the  Hellenization  of 
Judaism  and  put  an  end  to  its  most  dangerous  phases. 
It  produced  by  reaction  the  party  of  the  Pharisees,  which 

1  See  1  Mac.  2  :  42. 
I07 


The  Messages  oj  the 

in  the  final  outcome  gave  Judaism  its  permanent  impress. 
It  stimulated  the  Jewish  dispersion.  Far  more  than  any 
other  event  it  gave  its  peculiar  character  to  the  Judaism 
out  of  which  Christianity  sprang.  It  shaped  and  inspired 
the  religion  which  both  produced  and  rejected  Jesus  Christ. 

5.  The  History  of  the  Book 

The  Aramaic  The  book  as  we  have  it  is  partly  in  Hebrew  and  partly 
(2  :  4-7  :  28)  in  Aramaic.  The  writer  seems  to  have  sup- 
posed that  Aramaic  was  the  language  of  the  Chaldeans 
(2:4);  but  even  if  Aramaic,  instead  01  Babylonian,  was 
the  court  language  of  Babylon  it  was  not  such  Aramaic 
as  this.  No  good  reason  has  been  found  why  the  writer 
continued  to  use  Aramaic  to  the  end  of  chapter  7.  One 
hypothesis  is  that  the  whole  book  was  written  in  Hebrew 
and  that  the  original  of  this  part  was  accidentally  lost  and 
the  translation  substituted.  Another  and  more  probable 
guess  is  that  the  book  was  written  in  Aramaic,  and  the  first 
and  last  part  translated  into  Hebrew  when  the  book  was 
canonized,  because  Hebrew  was  the  Biblical  language. 
The  Book  of  Ezra  was  a  precedent  for  a  canonical  book 
which  had  an  Aramaic  part  (4 :  8-6  :  18).1  It  is  possible 
that  both  in  Ezra  and  in  Daniel  the  change  in  language  is 
connected  with  the  use  of  various  sources  in  the  composi- 
tion, but  this  does  not  seem  probable  in  the  case  of  Daniel. 

1  So  Marti  and  Cornill. 
I08 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

It  is  true  that  the  unity  of  the  book  cannot  be  assumed  Unity  of  the 
as  certain.  Even  if,  as  seems  highly  probable,  it  all  be- 
longs to  the  time  of  Antiochus,  it  is  not  impossible  that  the 
visions  were  put  forth  separately,  and  that  the  book  is  a 
collection,  or  a  growth.  Some  think  this  the  only  explana- 
tion of  the  change  from  1 150  days  (8:  14)  to  1290  (12:11), 
and  then  to  1335  (12  :  12),  as  the  length  of  the  time  of  the 
temple's  desolation.  This  inconsistency  can  be  explained 
more  simply  by  supposing  12  :  11- 12  a  later  addition 
meant  to  fit  the  prophecy  to  a  new  situation.  !  The  prevail- 
ing opinion  is  that  the  book  is  substantially  a  unit.2 

The  earliest  evidence  of  the  use  of  the  Book  of  Daniel  Earliest  use 
is  found  in  First  Maccabees  2  :  59-60,  and  in  the  Sibylline 
Oracles,  III,  396-400.  It  is  interesting  to  compare  the  in- 
fluence and  elaboration  of  the  book  in  Palestinian  and  in 
Alexandrian  Judaism.  In  Palestine  it  called  forth  a  lit- 
erature after  its  own  sort,  the  apocalyptical,  of  which  the 
oldest  extant  specimens  are  contained  in  the  Book  of 
Enoch.  One  of  the  later  parts  of  Enoch  (chs.  37-70)  is 
most  directly  dependent  on  Daniel.  In  the  Alexandrian 
version  the  book,  as  is  well  known,  is  supplemented  by 
additional  stories  which  are  contained  in  our  Apocrypha : 
the  Prayer  of  Azarias  and  the  Song  of  the  Three  Children, 
supplementing  chapter  3  ;  the  History  of  Susanna,  and 
Bel  and  the  Dragon,  illustrating  the  superior  wisdom  of 

1  Gunkel,  Marti,  Cornill. 

2  9  : 4-20  is  regarded  as  a  later  addition  by  von  Gall,  Marti,  Cornill. 

IO9 


The  Messages  o]  the 

Daniel.  The  interest  of  the  Palestinian  writers  was  to 
interpret  their  own  present  and  to  forecast  the  future, 
while  the  Hellenistic  Jews  were  more  concerned  with  wis- 
dom as  a  capacity  that  gave  success  and  honor  in  common 
human  life. 

II 

THE   REWARDS    OF   FIDELITY   TO    THE   LAW   AND  OF 

faith  in  god   (Daniel  1-6) 

i.  Loyalty  to  the  Ceremonial  Law  (i) 

This  story  introduces  Daniel  and  his  three  companions 
as  young  men  who  preserved  strictly  correct  Jewish  con- 
duct amid  the  allurements  of  a  heathen  court,  and  tells 
of  the  vindication  and  reward  of  their   fidelity  and  self- 
restraint.     The  violation  of  the  laws  regarding  food  was 
one  of  the  demands  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  since  this 
was  equivalent  to  apostasy  from  Jewish  faith.1     The  story 
was  therefore  adapted  to  the  needs  of  the  hour. 
The  choice         In  the  year  605  B.  C.2  Nebuchadnezzar,  king  of  Babylon, 
youthTfor      took  Jerusalem  and  carried  the  king  Jehoiakim  and  some 
"ciiald^ans "  °^  tne  sacred  vessels  of  the  temple  to  Babylonia,3  where  he 
(1-7)  put  the  vessels  into  the  temple  of  Marduk.     Among  the 

Jewish  captives  who  accompanied  the  king  certain  hand- 

1  1  Mac.  1  :  47,  48,  62,  63  ;  cf.  2  Mac.  5  :  27  ;  6  :  18  ff. ;  7  :  1. 

2  But  in  fact  Nebuchadnezzar's  reign  did  not  begin  until  604  B.  C. 

3  According  to  2  Chron.  36  : 6-7,  but  not  2  Kings  24  : 1-2. 

IIO 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

some  and  talented  young  men,  of  royal  blood,  were  chosen 
by  the  chief  eunuch,  at  Nebuchadnezzar's  command,  to  be 
educated  in  the  literature  and  language  of  the  Chaldeans, 
that  after  three  years  of  training  in  body  and  mind  they 
might  take  their  place  in  the  king's  service,  in  the  class 
of  the  wise  men,  whose  functions  were  those  of  priests 
and  magicians.1  To  four  Jewish  youths  selected  for  this 
training,  Daniel,  Hananiah,  Mishael  and  Azariah,2  Baby- 
lonian names  were  given. 

Daniel,  their  leader,  determined  not  to  violate  the  Jew-  Daniel's  re- 
ish  law  by  eating  the  food  and  drinking  the  wine  pro-  quest  (8-13) 
vided  by  the  king.  The  chief  eunuch  did  not  at  first  dare 
to  grant  his  request,  but  the  steward  (or  the  chief  eunuch 
himself)  finally  consented  to  give  Daniel  and  his  com- 
panions uncooked  vegetable  food  and  water  for  ten  days 
on  trial. 

At  the  end  of  this  time  their  condition  compared  favor-  Vindication 
ably  with  that  of  the  other  young  men,  so  that  this  simple  the  observ- 
fare  was  continued.     God  rewarded  the  abstinence  and  ^"(f'^ 
strict  observance  of  the  law  practised  by  the  four  Jews  by 
giving  to  them  not  only  physical  beauty  and  health  but  quick 
intelligence,  and  to  Daniel  especially  skill  in  visions  and 
dreams  ;  so  that  at  the  end  of  the  three  years  the  king  found 

1  These  wise  men  were  so  characteristic  of  the  Babylonians  that  the  race 
name,  Chaldeans,  came  to  be  specifically  applied  to  them,  naturally  not  till 
long  after  the  end  of  the  Chaldean  empire  (Dan.  1:4;  2 :  2,  4,  5,  10  ;  3:8; 
4:7;  5:7,11.     In  the  ethnic  sense  only  in  5:  30  ;  9:1). 

2  For  these  names  see  Ezra  8:2;  Neh.  8:4;  10 :  2  (3),  23  (24). 

Ill 


The  Messages  of  the 

them  superior  to  all  the  rest,1  and  indeed  wiser  than  all 
the  wise  men  in  his  kingdom.  Daniel  held  his  post  in 
the  court  until  the  time  of  Cyrus,  537  B.  C.  (about  sixty- 
five  years). 

2.  Dream  of  Four  World  Kingdoms  and  the  Kingdom 
of  God  (2) 

This  is  the  first  illustration  of  Daniel's  superiority  to 
the  wise  men  of  Babylon.  Jewish  wisdom  is  superior  to 
heathen  because  it  is  due  to  divine  revelation.  Its  won- 
derful disclosures  of  the  future  prove  its  divine  origin, 
for  only  the  God  who  determines  the  future  knows  and 
can  make  known  its  secrets.  The  dream  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar contains  in  its  most  general  form  the  central  mes- 
sage of  the  book,  which  the  visions  of  chapters  7-12 
only  elaborate  in  greater  detail.  After  the  four  great 
world  kingdoms  there  will  come,  without  human  effort, 
suddenly  and  by  miracle,  the  Kingdom  of  God.  The 
readers  of  the  book  would  not  fail  to  recognize  that  they 
were  living  under  the  fourth  kingdom,  and  to  infer  that 
the  end  was  near  at  hand.  This  message  of  the  speedy 
intervention  of  God,  the  overthrow  of  the  ungodly  power, 
and  the  triumph  and  glory  of  God's  faithful  people,  was 
just  adapted  to  inspire  Jews  to  fidelity  in  the  Maccabean 

1  What  follows  from  this  point  on  (vv.  20-21)  may  be  a  later  gloss,  since  its 
extravagant  statement  does  not  agree  with  Nebuchadnezzar's  conduct  in  ch. 
2,  nor  its  chronology  with  10  :  1,  but  rather  with  the  Septuagint  of  11 : 1. 

112 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

crisis.  The  chapter  teaches  faith  in  God,  whose  power 
through  Jewish  seers  to  reveal  the  future  is  inseparable 
from  his  power  through  the  Jewish  nation  to  bring  the 
prediction  to  pass. 

In  the  second  (twelfth?)1  year  of  his  reign  Nebuchad-  The  king's 
nezzar  had  a  dream  which  alarmed  him,  and  he  summoned  hLeun-and 
his  wise  men  to  interpret  it.2     He  required  them,  how-  t,easonable 

r  ^  '  demand 

ever,  to  tell  him  his  dream  as  well  as  its  interpretation.3  (*-«) 
To  the  protests  of  the  wise  men  against  this  unreasonable 
demand  the  king  only  threatens  them  with  death  if  they 
cannot  fulfil  it,  and  explains  that  the  requirement  is  meant 
to  test  the  reality  of  the  superhuman  arts  they  profess.4 
They  replied  that  such  a  demand  was  unheard  of,  one 
that  only  the  gods  could  meet,  and,  however  mysterious 
and  magical  their  arts,  they  did  not  profess  that  the  gods 
dwelt  in  them.  Inspiration  in  this  (Jewish)  sense  they 
denied  to  man. 

The  king  in  anger  decreed  the  destruction  of  all  the  His  decree 
wise  men,  including,  of  course,  Daniel  and  his  friends.        (12-13) 

1  The  second  seems  too  early  on  account  of  i :  5,  18. 

2  The  four  names,  magicians,  enchanters,  sorcerers  and  Chaldeans,  probably 
do  not  designate  distinct  classes,  but  in  part  the  various  methods  of  divination 
practised  by  those  who  are  sometimes  called  simply  wise  men  (vv.  12,  13,  24), 
or  Chaldeans  (vv.  4,  5,  10).  Still  another  name,  soothsayers  (or  determiners) 
is  used  (2  :  27  ;  4  :  7  •,  s  :  7,  1 1). 

3  This  story  is  closely  related  to  that  of  Joseph's  interpretation  of  Pharaoh's 
dreams  in  Gen.  47,  and  is  partly  dependent  on  it. 

4  Not  that  he  had  forgotten  the  dream. 

"3 


The  Messages  of  the 


Daniel  de- 
lays its  exe- 
cution 
(14-16) 
Prayer  and 
its  answer 

(17-19) 
A  psalm  of 
thanksgiv- 
ing (20-23) 


Daniel 
comes  be- 
fore the 
king 
(24-30) 


and  tells 
him  his 
dream 
(3i-35) 


Daniel  secured  a  delay  in  the  execution  of  the  sentence, 
and  in  answer  to  his  prayers  and  those  of  his  fellows,  God 
revealed  the  dream  and  its  meaning  to  him  in  a  night 
vision.  Daniel  in  a  psalm  praised  the  wisdom  and  power 
of  God.  It  is  he  that  determines  the  successive  periods  of 
world  history.1  Through  him  kingdoms  rise  and  fall.  It 
is  he  that  reveals  the  secrets  of  the  future,  for  he  alone 
knows  them. 

After  giving  thanks,  Daniel  told  the  captain  who  was 
charged  to  kill  the  wise  men  that  he  was  prepared  to  ful- 
fil the  king's  demand.  Introduced  by  the  captain  Daniel 
appeared  before  the  king,  and  said  :  None  of  the  wise  men 
can  reveal  the  king's  secret,  but  there  is  a  God  in  heaven 
that  reveals  secrets,  and  it  is  he  who  has  disclosed  to  the 
king  in  his  dream  the  future  course  and  end  of  human 
history,  on  which  he  was  reflecting.  For  your  sake,  O 
king,  and  not  because  of  my  superior  wisdom,  God  has 
revealed  to  me  the  mystery  of  the  dream. 

Your  dream  was  of  a  colossal  statue  of  brilliant  and 
terrifying  appearance.  It  was  made  of  four  sorts  of  ma- 
terial of  lessening  .value  from  the  head  to  the  feet,  gold, 
silver,  brass,  and  a  mixture  of  iron  and  clay.  A<?  you 
looked  at  it,  a  stone,  hewn  and  cast  by  no  human  hand, 
broke  the  feet,  so  that  the  image  fell  in  a  heap  and  its  dust 
was  blown  away  by  the  wind,  while  the  stone  became  an 
enormous  rock. 

1  2  Chron.  20 : 6. 


114 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

This  is  the  meaning  of  the  dream :  The  four  parts  of  and  its 
the  image,  from  the  head  downward,  are  four  successive  ™6-45)8 
world  empires.     Thine,  O  king  [the  Babylonian],  is  the  ^orid°ur 
first  and  greatest,   God  having  given  thee,  as  Jeremiah  kingdoms 
says  (27  :  6-7,  28  :  14),  absolute  rule  over  man  and  beast. 
The  second  kingdom  [the  Median]  shall  be  inferior  to 
thine.     The  third  [the  Persian]  shall  have  a  world-wide 
sway.     The  fourth  [the  Greek]  shall  be  at  first  [in  Alex- 
ander] invincibly   strong,   but   soon   division   will   come. 
Rivalries  [of  the  Seleucids  and  the  Ptolemies]  shall  be  a 
source  of  weakness.     Efforts  to  unite  the  separate  parts 
by  royal  marriages  1  will  fail,  and  the  world  kingdom,  in 
spite  of  elements  of  strength,  will  betray,  in  its  final  form, 
a  fatal  weakness,  which  will  be  a  sign  of  its  approaching 
end.     Then  God  will  intervene  and  overthrow  the  world  and  the 
empire.     In  its  place  he  will  set  up  his  own  rule,  to  be  Gocf  °m  ° 
exercised  through  his  own  people,  Israel,  and  never  again  (44-45) 
transferred  to  another.     The  stone  that  you  saw  in  your 
dream  is  a  guarantee  of  the  certainty  of  this  prediction. 

The  king,  in  wonder  and  awe,  worshipped  Daniel  as  a  The  king 
divine  being,  and  confessed  that  the  God  of  the  Jews  is  GoYand 
superior  to  all  other  gods,  because  he  alone  can  reveal  the  j^,^13 
future.     He  promoted  Daniel  to  the  highest  place  in  his  (46-49) 
court,  and  made  him  also  chief  of  his  wise  men.     At  Dan- 
iel's request  his  three  friends  were  given  places  of  authority 
in  Babylonia,  but  Daniel  remained  at  the  court. 

1  More  fully  described  in  n  :  6,  17. 
"5 


The  Messages  oj  the 


The  great 
image  and 
its  worship 
(i-7) 


Accusa- 
tions, 

threat  and 
choice 
(8-18) 


The  execu- 
tion of  the 
threat 
(19-23) 

The  rescue 
(24-27) 


3.  Faith  Tried  by  Fire  (3) 

Nebuchadnezzar  made  a  great  statue,1  covered  with 
gold,  ninety  feet  high  and  nine  feet  broad,2  on  a  plain  near 
Babylon,  and  summoned  all  the  officers  of  his  kingdom  to 
its  dedication.  It  was  then  announced  that  at  the  sound 
of  musical  instruments  all  must  bow  down  and  worship 
the  image  on  penalty  of  death  by  fire.3  So  when  the 
music  sounded  everyone  worshipped  the  image. 

Then  some  of  the  wise  men  accused  the  three  Jews  of 
disregarding  the  king's  order.  The  king  in  anger  sum- 
moned them  into  his  presence,  and  put  before  them  the 
threatened  punishment,  adding,  Who  is  the  God  that  shall 
deliver  you  out  of  my  hand  ?  They  reply,  We  believe  that 
our  God  will  deliver  us,  but  even  if  he  does  not,  we  will 
not  worship  the  image. 

Nebuchadnezzar  in  a  rage  ordered  the  furnace  heated 
far  beyond  its  ordinary  condition,  and  the  men  were  bound, 
without  removing  their  inflammable  outer  garments,  and 
cast  into  the  fire.4  But  when  the  king  looked  into  the 
furnace  he  was  amazed  at  seeing  four  men  unbound  and 

1  Whether  of  himself  or  of  a  god  is  not  certain. 

2  This  is  twice  as  high  in  proportion  to  its  breadth  as  the  human  figure. 

3  That  Nebuchadnezzar  could  have  inflicted  such  penalties  might  be  known 
from  Jer.  29  :  22,  which  seems  to  be  a  historical  allusion.  That  Antiochus 
went  to  this  length  we  can  infer  from  Dan.  1 1 :  33,  and  2  Mac.  7  :  3-5. 

4  Here  follow  in  the  LXX,  Vulgate  and  other  versions  the  prayer  of  Azariah 
and  the  Song  of  the  Three  Children,  winch  may  be  read  in  our  Apocrypha. 

Il6 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

unharmed,  and  the  fourth,  he  declared,  was  like  one  of 
the  gods.  Coming  near  he  summoned  them  forth  as  ser- 
vants of  the  Most  High  God.1  They  came  forth  without 
a  trace  of  fire  on  their  persons  or  clothing.  Nebuchad-  its  conse- 
nezzar  confessed  the  greatness  of  Israel's  God,  and  decreed  (^8-30) 
toleration  for  the  Jewish  religion  throughout  the  world, 
with  the  severest  penalties  upon  all  who  opposed  or  de- 
nounced it.     The  three  Jews  were  reinstated  in  office.2 

4.   The  Proud  King's  Humiliation  (4) 

The  story  of  Nebuchadnezzar's  humiliation  and  resto- 
ration teaches  that  Jehovah  rules  and  that  earthly  kings 
have  their  kingdom  from  him,  and  must  recognize  his  su- 
preme kingship  if  they  would  hold  their  own  with  security. 
The  idea  is  by  no  means  new.  Our  writer  is  influenced 
in  his  expression  of  it  by  Jeremiah  27  :  5-6.  Isaiah  had 
already  expressed  the  same  faith  with  reference  to  Assyria 
(Isa.  10 :  5  ff.),  and  had  preached  the  truth  that  pride  and 
indifference  to  the  majesty  of  God  is  man's  great  sin  and 
will  bring  upon  him  God's  humbling  judgment.  In  Dan- 
iel the  message  is  made  the  more  striking  because  it  is  put 
into  the  mouth  of  Nebuchadnezzar  himself,  as  a  com- 
munication to  all  peoples.  In  a  part  of  the  chapter  indeed 
the  writer  seems  to  forget  this  device,  and  Nebuchadnezzar 

1  This  phrase  is  often  used,  from  Gen.  14  on,  and  especially  as  a  heathen 
name  for  the  one  true  God  of  Israel. 

2  The  story  illustrates  Isa.  43  :  2. 

117 


The  Messages  of  the 


Greeting 
and  theme 
(i-3) 


Nebuchad- 
nezzar, 
troubled  by  a 
dream,  turns 
to  Daniel 
(4-9) 


is  spoken  of  in  the  third  person  (vv.  19-33).  The  fitness 
of  the  story  to  sustain  the  courage  of  Jews  in  resisting  the 
arrogant  claims  of  Antiochus  is  obvious.  That  any  actual 
incident  in  Nebuchadnezzar's  life  underlies  it  is  improb- 
able. Yet  here  as  elsewhere  the  writer  may  have  availed 
himself  of  current  traditions.  A  Babylonian  legend  is 
actually  preserved,1  which  goes  back  to  about  300  B.  C, 
that  Nebuchadnezzar  was  once  inspired  to  predict  the 
overthrow  of  the  Babylonian  kingdom  by  Cyrus,  and  that 
he  expressed  the  wish  that  Cyrus  might  rather  be  driven 
forth  to  wander  alone  among  the  wild  beasts  of  the  desert. 
It  is  of  some  interest  to  observe  that  in  both  stories  Neb- 
uchadnezzar receives  a  divine  communication,  and  that 
the  fate  which  in  the  Babylonian  story  he  invokes  upon 
the  enemy  of  his  nation,  in  Daniel  falls  upon  himself. 
This  may  give  us  a  suggestion  of  the  free  way  in  which 
such  legendary  materials  were  handled.  Of  course,  the 
story  contains  further  evidence  of  the  skill  and  truth  of 
Daniel's  interpretation  of  mysteries. 

Nebuchadnezzar  greets  all  nations,  and  wishes  to  make 
known  to  them  a  wonderful  experience  in  which  the  God 
of  Israel  showed  him  his  power  and  eternal  rulership. 

I  was  in  peace  and  prosperity,  with  no  thought  of  evil, 
when  I  had  a  dream  that  troubled  me.  My  wise  men 
could  not  interpret  it.  I  therefore  called  in  Daniel,  who 
is  a  truly  inspired  magician,  and  told  him  this  dream  :  I 

1  Eusebius,  Prap.  Evang.,  ix.,  41. 
Il8 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

saw  a  great  tree  that  seemed  to  fill  the  earth  and  reach  to  and  tells  him 

the  sky.1     It  was  beautiful,  and  its  fruit  gave  food  and  its  do-18) 

branches  shelter  to  all.     Then  an  angel  came  from  heaven 

and  ordered  the  tree  cut  down,  warned  beasts  and  birds 

to  flee,  and  commanded  that  the  stump  be  left  immovable  2 

in  the  grass,  wet  with  dew,  in  company  with  the  beasts,  and 

that  a  beast's  mind  take  the  place  in  him  of  a  man's  ; 3  and 

this  for  seven  years.4     Such  is  the  sentence  of  the  angelic 

court,  and  its  purpose  is  to  teach  that  God  rules  on  earth 

and  gives  power  to  whomsoever  he  will. 

To  this  dream  Daniel  after  long  hesitation,  because  of  Theinter- 

11  •  ,  i      •    ,  *'  rr^i  pretation 

its  appalling  import,  gave  me  the  interpretation.  1  he  tree,  (19-27) 
he  said,  is  thyself,  O  king,  and  the  words  of  the  angel  sig- 
nify that  God  decrees  for  thee  a  life  among  the  beasts  and 
as  one  of  them  for  seven  years,  till  thou  shalt  acknowledge 
that  he  alone  is  king.  But  as  the  stump  was  preserved, 
so  thou  shalt  be  restored,  after  confessing  that  heaven5 

1  Compare  the  tree  to  which  Assyria  is  likened  in  Ezek.  31  :  3-14. 

2  This  may  be  the  meaning  of  the  band  of  iron  and  brass,  but  the  writer 
may  already  have  dropped  the  figure. 

3  This  applies  only  to  the  king,  no  longer  in  any  sense  to  the  tree.  In- 
sanity was  conceived  of  as  possession  by  a  brute  soul. 

4  "Times,"  stands  for  years,  in  accordance  with  the  apocalyptical  termi- 
nology, in  which  simple  things  are  hidden  behind  mystical  names. 

5  The  earliest  use  of  heaven  as  a  name  of  God,  not  elsewhere  in  the  Old 
Testament  (yet  cf.  2  Chron.  32  :  20),  but  very  common  in  later  writings. 
The  verse  shows  how  easy  the  change  would  be  from  the  idea  of  the  God  of 
heaven  ruling  through  the  ministry  of  heavenly  beings,  to  the  use  of  "the 
heavens"  as  a  name  of  God  himself. 

IIQ 


The  Messages  oj  the 

rules.     But  now,  O  king,  know  that  by  righteousness  and 

alms-giving  this  evil  may  be  averted. 

The  fulfil-        A  year  later,  as  the  king  was  surveying  Babylon  from 

insanity  of    the  roof  of  his  palace,  and  glorying  in  the  splendid  city  he 

(28-33)g       had  made  for  himself,  a  voice  from  heaven  l  announced 

the  end  of  his  rule  and  the  fulfilment  of  the  dream,  which 

followed  that  very  hour.     The  king  became  insane  and 

lived  as  a  wild  man  among  the  beasts,  imagining  himself 

to  be  one  of  them. 

His  recovery     At  the  end  of  the  seven  years,  I,  Nebuchadnezzar,  looked 

and  con-  ,  .  .;,,.. 

version         up  toward  heaven,  and  with  this  sign  of  my  recognition  of 

~  God  I  became  sane  again  and  praised  God  as  the  only  and 

absolute  ruler.    Then  I  was  re-established  in  my  place  as 

king,  and  now  I  worship  the  God  who  rules  in  justice  and 

humbles  the  proud. 

5.  God's  Judgment  upon  a  Sacrilegious  King  (5) 

That  God  abases  those  who  walk  in  pride  (4 :  37)  is 
also  the  theme  of  the  story  of  Belshazzar,  and  this  story 
is  closely  connected  with  the  preceding  one  by  Daniel's 
repetition  of  the  story  of  the  humiliation  and  conversion 
of  Nebuchadnezzar  (vv.  18-21).  The  sin  of  Belshazzar 
was  greater  than  his  father's,  for  he  not  only  forgot  God 
in  his  pride,  but  was  guilty  of  an  act  of  sacrilege  in  using 
the  temple  vessels  in  a  feast.     The  application  of  the  story 

1  Later  Jews  had  much  to  say  about  the  Bath  Kol  as  a  means  of  revelation. 
See  Matt.  3:17;  17:5;  John  12  :  28  ;  Acts  n  :  7,  9  ;  Rev.  10  : 4. 

I20 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

to  Antiochus  was  self-evident.  He  had  despoiled  the  tem- 
ple of  its  holy  vessels  (i  Mac.  i :  21-24),  though  we  do 
not  know  that  he  had  put  them  to  a  profane  use.  Bois- 
terous revelry,  however,  he  often  did  indulge  in  ;  and  as  to 
sacrilege,  the  erecting  of  an  altar  to  Zeus  on  the  altar  of 
burnt  incense  was  far  worse  than  Belshazzar's  deed.  The 
fall  of  Antiochus,  the  writer  meant  to  say,  is  no  less  certain 
than  that  of  this  prototype,  and  like  his  it  will  involve 
the  end  of  his  dynasty  and  race. 

Belshazzar  gave  a  magnificent  feast  to  one  thousand  The  feast 
of  his  lords.     When  under  the  influence  of  wine  he  or-  king's  im- 
dered  the  vessels  which  Nebuchadnezzar  had  taken  from  piety  ^l~4^ 
the  temple  of  Jerusalem  to  be  brought  in  and  used  by  the 
feasters,  the  women  of  the  king's  harem,  as  well  as  the 
men. 

In  the  midst  of  this  revelry  the  king  was  terrified  by  the  The  writing 
sight  of  a  hand,  writing  on  the  wall.    Summoning  his  wise  (5-9) 
men  he  offered  one  of  the  three  highest  places  in  his  king- 
dom to  the  one  who  could  read  and  interpret  the  writing, 
but  none  could  do  it. 

The  queen  reminded  Belshazzar  of  the  way  in  which  Daniel  is 
Daniel  had  proved  his  skill  and  inspiration  during  the  (io-?7°)ne 
preceding  reign.     He  was  therefore  summoned,  and  the 
task  and  rewards  set  before  him.     Renouncing  the  re- 
wards he  promised  to  read  the  writing  and  disclose  its 
meaning. 

He  first  rebuked  Belshazzar  for  not  learning  from  his 

121 


The  Messages  oj  the 

He  rebukes  father's  insanity  and  recovery  to  acknowledge  the  true 
Srets      God.     In  spite  of  this  he  has  gone  even  further  in  putting 

^8-i2S)ting  tne  k°ly  property  of  God  to  profane  use,  and  in  worship- 
ping idols  in  place  of  the  creator  and  sustainer  of  his  life. 
On  this  account  the  hand  was  sent  to  write  words  of  doom, 
Ment,  Mexe,  Tekel,  Uphar5ix  for,  axd  Parsev).  These 
are  the  names  of  three  weights,  or  coins  :  mene,  fifty  shekels, 
tekel,  a  shekel,  uphursin  (two?)  half-shekels.1  But  the 
words  suggest  something  more  than  mere  weights.  Mene 
means  numbered  ;  so  thy  kingdom  is  numbered  and  ended. 
Tekel  suggests  weighed  (Tekil) ;  so  thou  art  weighed  and 
found  lacking.  Peres  2  suggests  both  divided  (Peris)  and 
Persian  (Paras)  ;  so  thy  kingdom  is  divided  and  given  to 
the  Medes  and  Persians. 

The  reward       The  king  fulfilled  his  promise  to  Daniel,  and  that  very 

and  the  end  night  was  slain  and  succeeded  by  Darius,  the  Mede,  who 

of  Bel-         wa5  aDOUt  thirtv-two  vears  old. 

shazzar  J  J 

(20-31) 

6.  God's  Protection  oj  one  ivho  Would  not  Worship  a 
King  (6) 

The  lesson  of  this  story  is  like  that  of  chapters  1  and  3, 
the  safety  of  obedience  to  the  law,  without  secrecy7  or  fear, 
whatever  the  threats  and  persecutions  of  the  godless.    The 

1  Some  think  the  weights  suggest  the  great  Babylonian  kingdom,  the  lesser 
Medo-Peraan.  and  the  divided  Greek  ;  or  Nebuchadnezzar,  Belshazzar,  and 
the  dual  Medo-Persian  kingdom. 

2  This  may  be  the  singular  of  which  Parsin  is  the  plural  or  duaL 

122 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

story,  which  is  closely  related  to  that  of  chapter  3,  was 
of  value  even  to  its  writer,  not  as  fact,  but  as  truth.  The 
religious  faith  it  embodies  is  contained  in  Psalm  91  :  10-13, 
a  passage  that  can  be  so  misapplied  as  to  express  an  un- 
truth and  become  a  temptation  to  sin  (Matt.  4  :  5-7).  Its 
truth  is  adapted  to  those  who  face  persecution  for  right- 
eousness' sake.  The  fitness  of  the  story  to  the  times  is 
obvious.  Antiochus  assumed  the  role  of  a  deity,  as  other 
Greek  kings  had  done,  but  with  greater  arrogance,  and 
the  Jews  were  compelled  to  take  part  in  this  cult  on  pain 
of  death. 

Darius   gave  Daniel  a  position   like  that  which   Bel-  Daniel's 
shazzar  awarded  him,  that  of  one  of  three  chief  officers  (i-3)Pace 
to  whom  the  one  hundred  and  twenty  satraps  who  ruled  his 
domain  were  accountable.     Daniel  proved  so  superior  to 
the  others,  because  of  the  divine  presence  with  him,  that 
the  king  thought  of  putting  him  in  sole  command. 

Jealous  of  his  power  the  other  officers  conspired  to  The  plot 
bring  about  his  fall.  They  could  find  no  fault  with  his  (4-g)S  Hm 
administration  of  his  office,  and  could  hope  to  rob  him  of 
the  king's  favor  only  on  the  ground  of  his  peculiar  religion. 
They  therefore  proposed  to  Darius  to  demand  that  prayer 
should  be  addressed  to  none  but  himself  for  thirty  days, 
on  pain  of  being  cast  to  the  lions.  They  succeeded  in 
getting  the  king's  consent  to  this  flattering  request,  and 
his  formal  assumption  of  the  role  of  a  god. 

Daniel  continued  his  habit  of  praying  three  times  daily 

123 


The  Messages  of  the 

Daniel  is  a    at  his  open  window  with  his  face  toward  Jerusalem.1     His 

conspiracy  6  enemies  found  him  thus,  and  accused  him  to  the  king. 

(10-17)        Darius  was  not  angry  with  Daniel,  but  rather  regretted 

his  own  action.     He  made  every  effort  to  save  Daniel, 

but  in  vain.     The  king's  decree  was  inviolable  and  the 

sentence  must  be  executed.     With  the  hope  that  Daniel's 

God  would  yet  deliver  him,  Darius  committed  him  to  the 

lions,  closing  and  sealing  the  den. 

The  deliver-      After  a  sleepless  night  the  king  hastened  to  the  den  and 

24  was  rejoiced  to  find  Daniel  unharmed.     An  angel,  he  said, 

had  kept  him  safe,  because  of  his  innocence  before  God 

and  the  king,  and  because  of  his  faith.     Daniel's  accusers 

and  their  families  were  cast  into  the  den  in  his  place,  and 

were  immediately  destroyed  by  the  ravenous  fury  of  the 

beasts. 

The  decree        Then  Darius  wrote  a  decree  of  toleration  for  the  Jewish 

(25-28)    '     religion,  as  Nebuchadnezzar  had  done,  to  be  enforced  in 

all  his  realm.     So  Daniel  prospered  under  Darius,  and 

still  later  under  Cyrus. 

Ill 

VISIONS     OF     THE    FALL     OF     ANTIOCHUS     AND     THE 
COMING    OF    THE    KINGDOM    OF    GOD    (7-12) 

The  second  main  division  of  the  book,  chapters  7-12, 
consists  of  four  visions  of  Daniel,  seen  in  the  reigns  of 

1  See  Ps.  55  :  17  •,  1  Kings  8  :  35,  38,  44,  48 ;  Tobit  3  :  11. 
I24 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

Belshazzar,  Darius  and  Cyrus.  They  are  told  in  the  Purpose  of 
first  person,  but  the  first  and  fourth  are  introduced  by  a  fl^ters 
verse  which  speaks  of  Daniel  in  the  third  person,  as  is 
the  case  throughout  chapters  1-6.  It  is  said  definitely 
that  Daniel  himself  wrote  the  first  vision  (7  :  1),  and  it  is 
implied  that  he  wrote  them  all,  or  all  of  the  book,  and 
sealed  it,  so  that  its  contents  should  remain  unknown 
and  unchanged  until  the  time  of  the  fulfilment,  long  after 
his  death  (12  :  4,  9,  13  ;  cf.  8  :  26). 

The  aim  of  this  second  part  of  the  book  is  the  same  as 
that  of  the  first.  There  by  stories  of  past  judgments  and 
deliverances,  here  by  visions  of  the  immediately  approach- 
ing overthrow  of  Israel's  enemy,  and  the  glorious  salva- 
tion of  the  faithful  people  of  God,  the  Jews  were  ad- 
monished to  endure  persecution  and  hold  fast  to  the  law. 
In  chapter  2,  in  the  earlier  section,  the  message  of  the 
visions  is  anticipated. 

1.  Origin  and  Growth  of  the  Vision  of  Four  Beasts 

The  first  vision  is  in  many  ways  of  great  importance  importance 
in  the  history  of  religion.     This  is  clear  enough    simply  f"^^" 
in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  Messianic  use  of  the  phrase,  chaPter  7 
Son  of  Man,  in  Enoch  and  in  the  Gospels  has  its  source 
here.     The  chapter  contains  the  vision  (1-14)  ;  its  effect 
on  Daniel,  and  his  appeal  to  an  angel  for  its  meaning 
(15-16)  ;    a  summary  interpretation  (17-18)  ;    a   further 
request   for  more   particulars  (19-22)  ;  the  reply  of  the 

125 


The  Messages  oj  the 

angel  (23-27)  ;  and  Daniel's  mental  state  after  the  vision 

(28). 
Relation  be-      It  is  to  be  noticed  that  in  Daniel's  request  for  more 
S  and     particulars  (19-22)  he  adds  some  details  to  the  vision  it- 
theinterpre-  sejf .  namely,  that  the  fourth  beast  had  "nails  of  brass"; 

tation  J ' 

that  the  little  horn  became  greater  than  the  others  ;  and 
that  it  made  war  with  the  saints  and  prevailed  against 
them.  Nothing  is  said  of  such  a  war  in  verse  8.  Further 
the  reply  of  the  angel  (23-27)  not  only  describes  the  fourth 
kingdom  and  the  character  and  deeds  of  its  last  king,  but 
adds  the  important  new  item  that  his  insolent  and  sac- 
rilegious dominance  over  the  saints  is  to  last  three  and  a 
half  "times"  (v.  25).  Why  does  the  vision  as  it  is  first 
described  lack  these  elements?  Again  why  does  it  con- 
tain elements  not  used  in  the  interpretation?  "The  four 
winds,"  and  the  storm  which  they  cause  on  "the  great 
sea"  are  unexplained.  Again  the  description  of  the  di- 
verse appearance  of  the  four  beasts  occupies  an  impor- 
tant place  in  the  vision  (3-8),  but  the  interpretation  passes 
all  this  by  with  the  general  remark  that  the  four  beasts 
are  four  kingdoms,  adding  "that  shall  arise  out  of  the 
earth,"  in  contrast  to  v.  3,  and  then  gives  attention  only 
to  the  fourth  beast,  and  chiefly  to  the  eleventh  horn  (18- 
25).  Now  there  is  much  in  the  description  of  the  first 
three  beasts  that  needs  elucidation.  If  these  had  been 
interpreted  even  as  fully  as  were  the  four  parts  of  the 
image  in  chapter  2,  or  with  entire  explicitness  as  are  the 

126 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

animal  figures  in  the  second  vision  (ch.  8),  how  long  a 
chapter  of  religious  history  would  have  been  not  at  all  or 
very  differently  written! 

What  are  we  to  infer  from  this  partial  want  of  adjust-  inferences 
ment  between  the  vision   and  the  interpretation?     Our sou^e^f the 
answer  to  this  question  bears  on  the  answer  to  another :  v¥oxb    ■ 

1  whether  m- 

Where  did  our  writer  get  the  vision  from?  Did  he  in-  vention,  tra- 
vent  it  ?  Did  he  get  it  from  tradition  ?  Did  he  see  it  in  trance 
a  literal  trance  ?  The  relation  of  invention  and  tradition 
in  the  writing  of  apocalypses  is  a  most  important  and 
difficult  problem,  as  we  have  already  seen.  In  a  case  like 
the  one  before  us  we  should  naturally  look  for  tradition 
especially  in  those  features  of  the  vision  which  the  writer 
does  not  apply  or  explain  in  his  interpretation.  On  the 
other  hand  we  should  suspect  invention,  creating  or  at 
least  modifying  the  material,  at  points  which  fit  with  special 
closeness  the  message  he  is  most  interested  in  communi- 
cating, and  the  peculiar  situation  of  his  own  time. 

Now  in  verses  2  and  3  there  are  features  that  seem  to 
have  no  significance  to  the  writer  (cf.  v.  17).  It  is  natural 
therefore  to  suppose  that  the  winds  and  the  stormy  sea 
and  the  coming  up  of  the  beasts  that  stand  for  the  godless 
kingdoms  out  of  the  sea,  belong  to  a  fixed  tradition.  And 
in  fact  we  have  positive  evidence  that  this  is  the  case. 
This  is  a  new  form  of  the  old  conception  of  the  dragon 
of  the  watery  chaos.  On  the  other  hand  the  enumeration 
of  just  four  beasts,  and  the  precise  description  of  them, 

127 


The  Messages  oj  the 

fits  the  writer's  view  of  the  four  kingdoms  of  which  he 
wrote  in  chapter  2  closely  enough  so  that  we  may  sup» 
pose  that  he  fashioned,  or  at  least  refashioned  them 
with  a  measure  of  independence,  though  the  fact  that  he 
does  not  care  to  give  an  interpretation  of  their  details  by 
the  angel  makes  one  hesitate.  Perhaps  the  idea  of  the 
four  world  kingdoms  and  the  adaptation  of  the  chaos 
monster  to  them  were  already  current  in  the  circles  to 
which  our  writer  belonged.  His  creative  hand  is  most 
clearly  seen  in  the  fourth  beast  and  especially  in  the  little 
horn,  which  is  not  a  natural  feature  in  the  picture,  but  is 
far  the  most  important  feature  for  the  author's  purpose. 
In  fact  this  is  history  under  only  a  thin  disguise.  The 
little  horn  is  described  not  as  a  horn,  but  as  a  man  (v.  8). 

In  the  vision  of  God  and  his  judgment  and  the  one  like 
a  son  of  man  and  his  dominion  (9-14),  the  proportion  and 
relation  of  old  and  new  are  harder  to  determine.  The  vis- 
ion is  not  unrelated  to  earlier  visions  of  God  (1  Kings  22 : 
19  ;  Deut.  33  :  2  (?)  ;  Ex.  24  :  10  ;  Isa.  6  ;  Ezek.  1).  The 
figure  of  the  one  like  a  man,  the  representative  of  the  holy 
people  of  God  and  of  their  destined  rulership,  in  contrast  to 
the  beasts  who  represent  the  heathen  kingdoms,  certainly 
embodies  the  writer's  ruling  faith  and  hope,  and  we  are 
tempted  to  regard  this  use  of  it  as  in  a  measure  his  own. 

But,  it  may  be  asked,  what  of  the  third  possibility,  that 
the  whole  vision,  just  as  it  is  described,  was  seen  by  the 
seer  in  actual  vision  or  trance  ?     Our  earlier  study  of  vision 

128 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

has  prepared  us  to  consider  the  question  in  an  unpreju-  Relation  «* 
diced  spirit,  and  to  realize  that  it  does  not  in  fact  involve  usToftrad^ 
a  third  view  of  the  source  of  the  symbolism  essentially  dif- tion  -and  iQ" 
ferent  from  the  two  already  considered,  tradition  and  in- 
vention. The  question  of  actual  vision  resolves  itself  for 
us  practically  into  the  question  of  the  presence  of  an  emo- 
tional element  in  our  writer's  experience,  more  or  less  in 
excess  of  the  normal.  In  verses  15  and  28  partly  physical 
effects  are  described,  which  might  follow  a  more  or  less 
complete  state  of  trance  or  ecstasy.  The  reality  of  the 
vision  as  a  psychological  experience  can  be  admitted  more 
easily  in  the  case  of  some  apocalyptical  products  than  in 
that  of  others ;  more  easily,  for  example,  in  this  first  than 
in  the  second  of  Daniel's  visions.  But  even  when  it  is 
present  in  a  high  degree  it  does  not  make  the  appeal  to 
tradition  and  to  inventive  imagination  superfluous  or  mis- 
taken. For  even  in  such  states  the  mind  still  works  over 
materials  which  it  already  possesses.  Indeed  the  natural 
effect  of  these  conditions  of  emotional  transport  is  rather 
to  give  new  meanings  to  objects  present  before  the  senses, 
or  in  memory,  than  to  create  wholly  new  objects. 

2.  "One  like  unto  a  Son  0}  Man" 

The  main  points  in  the  interpretation  of  this  vision  are  Interpreta- 
clear.     The  four  beast -like  figures,  and  the  figure  like  a  vi^on  in  e 
man  stand  for  the  nations  which  successively  possess  do-  general 
minion  over  the  world.     It  is  highly  probable  that  the 

129 


The  Messages  oj  the 


Views  as  to 
the  Son  of 
Man 


Is  it  the 
Messiah  ? 


Is  it  a  sym- 
bol of 
Israel  ? 


four  are  the  same  that  are  imaged  in  Nebuchadnezzar's 
dream  (ch.  2).  Beyond  question  the  first  is  the  Baby- 
lonian and  the  fourth  the  Greek. 

In  regard  to  the  figure  "like  unto  a  son  of  man,"  that  is, 
simply,  like  a  man  (v.  13),  although  in  some  way  it  must 
represent  Israel,  three  different  interpretations  are  pos- 
sible. In  the  earliest  use  of  the  vision  of  which  we  have 
knowledge,  in  the  Similitudes  of  the  Book  of  Enoch  (chs. 
37-70),  this  figure  is  understood  to  be  the  Messiah.  So 
it  is  in  the  New  Testament,1  and  in  Second  Esdras  13  :  3 ; 
and  this  has  been  the  current  Jewish  and  Christian  inter- 
pretation. It  does  not  seem,  however,  to  have  been  the 
meaning  of  the  writer.  The  expression  "one  like  a  man" 
excludes  the  view  that  it  was  actually  a  man.  Moreover 
no  Messiah  appears  elsewhere.  The  task  of  overthrow- 
ing the  Greek  king  and  setting  up  the  kingdom  of  Israel  is 
ascribed  to  God  himself,  or  where  an  intermediary  agent 
appears  it  is  Michael,  the  angel  prince  of  Israel.  More- 
over, the  writer  seems  to  give  an  explicit  interpretation  of 
the  figure.  In  verse  14  he  is  the  one  to  whom  the  kingdom 
is  finally  to  be  given,  and  in  verses  18,  22  and  27  this  honor 
falls  to  "the  people  of  the  saints  of  the   Most   High." 

1  See,  for  example,  Matt.  24  :  30  ;  26  :  64  ;  16  :  27  f.  It  is  not  so  clear  how 
the  writer  of  Revelation  understood  it.  He  uses  the  imagery  to  describe  his 
vision  of  the  heavenly  Christ  in  1  :  13,  but  only  in  connection  with  features 
taken  from  the  Ancient  of  Days  (v.  14),  and  the  angel  of  Dan.,  to  :  5-6,  while 
in  Rev.  14  :  14  he  seems  to  take  the  figure  to  be  an  angel  rather  than  the 
Messiah. 

I30 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

According  to  this,  just  as  the  beasts  are  symbolic  repre- 
sentations of  four  successive  ruling  nations,  from  the  Baby- 
lonian to  the  Greek,  so  the  human  figure  is  a  symbol  of 
Israel,  as  it  finally  receives  the  kingdom  at  God's  hand. 
This  is  the  view  of  the  majority  of  recent  commentators. 

There  is,  however,  a  third  possibility.  This  heavenly  Is  it  an 
representative  of  Israel  may  be  an  angel  rather  than  aange 
mere  symbol  ;  and  if  an  angel  then  presumably  Michael, 
since  he  is  Israel's  representative  and  counterpart  in  the 
spirit  realm.  In  favor  of  this  view,  which  has  been  urged 
by  two  recent  writers  independently,1  it  may  be  argued 
that  the  figure  has  a  distinctly  heavenly  character,  and 
especially  that  the  coming  on  clouds  is  appropriate  only 
for  God  {e.g.,  Isa.  19  :  1  ;  Ps.  104 :  3)  or  an  angel  (cf.  Rev. 
10:1).  The  impression  he  makes  is  that  of  majesty, 
not  of  human  weakness.  There  is  no  hint  of  foregoing 
sufferings,  such  as  Israel  has  to  endure  (7  :  25  ;  12  :  1),  nor 
of  impurities  needing  to  be  cleansed  (n  :  35).  Further- 
more, very  similar  expressions  are  used  of  an  angel  in 
8  :  15,  16  ;  9:21;  10  :  16,  18.  An  angel  is  not  a  man,  but 
is  like  a  man.  This  view  does  justice  both  to  the  im- 
pression of  distinct  personality  which  led  to  the  first  in- 
terpretation of  the  figure  as  Messiah,  and  also  to  the 
second  interpretation   which    regards  it  as  a  symbol  of 

1  Prof.  N.  Schmidt,  in  Journal  of  Biblical  Literature,  1900,  i.,  pp.  22-2?; 
and  Prof.  J.  Grill,  Un/ersuchungen  uber  die  Entsiehung  des  vierten  Evan- 
geliums,  1900,  i.,  pp.  50-57. 

131 


The  Messages  oj  the 

the  people  of  God.  For  this  writer  shares  the  current 
belief  in  guardian,  or  rather  representative,  angels  of  the 
nations  (10:  13,  14  ;  10 :  20  ;  11  :  1).  Michael  is  Israel's 
angel  prince,  and  his  victory  in  the  heavenly  realm  over 
the  angels  of  other  nations,  and  his  receiving  the  kingdom, 
would  mean  precisely  Israel's  victory  over  its  enemies  on 
earth  and  its  attainment  of  world-rulership.  In  fact  it  is 
evident  that  Michael  occupies  an  important  place  in  our 
writer's  view  of  Israel's  fortunes,  and  his  mediatorship 
is  an  important  factor  in  the  coming  of  the  longed-for 
salvation.  He,  with  Gabriel,  fights  against  Israel's  ene- 
mies, the  angels  of  Persia  and  Greece,  and  his  appearance 
as  Israel's  champion  at  the  height  of  its  distress  will  mean 
the  coming  of  its  salvation  and  glory  (12:1).  In  this 
passage  he  appears  immediately  after  the  death  of  An- 
tiochus  (11  :  45),  just  as  in  7  :  13  the  one  like  a  man  ap- 
pears just  after  the  same  event  (vv.  11-12).  It  is  not 
said  that  Michael  himself  overthrows  Greece,  unless  this 
is  implied  in  10  :  20,  21.  It  was,  however,  at  some  time  a 
current  idea  that  Michael  was  to  be  the  conqueror  of  the 
demoniac  dragon  power  (Rev.  12  :  7).  It  is  natural, 
therefore,  to  raise  the  question  whether  either  in  our 
writer's  own  view,  or  in  the  older  tradition  of  which  he 
made  use,  the  one  like  a  man  was  not  himself  the  destroyer 
of  the  water  beast.1     If  so  then  7:  11-12  would  describe 

1  According  to  the  LXX,  8  :  u,  it  appears  that  Michael  is  to  be  the  deliv- 
erer of  Israel  from  Antiochus. 

132 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

this  victory,  and  in  verse  13  the  conqueror  would  be  seen 
rising  up  from  his  conflict  with  the  sea-monster,  borne  on  a 
cloud  to  the  presence  of  God,  where  he  receives  as  a  reward 
for  his  victory  rulership  over  the  world.1  This,  however, 
is  not  so  clear  as  is  the  general  idea  that  the  one  like  a 
man  is  an  angel.  This  is  probably  the  view  of  the  writer, 
and  it  seems  also  to  have  been  the  understanding  of  the 
passage  in  Revelation  14 :  14,  where  the  connection  pre- 
vents us  from  understanding  it  as  the  Messiah. 

If  the  one  like  a  man  is  an  angel  being,  the  question  The  beasts 
arises  whether  the  beasts  may  not  also  be  more  than  sym-  as  emons 
bols.  In  fact,  the  ancient  chaos  dragon,  whose  element 
is  the  sea,  has  a  demoniac  character,  and  it  is  not  improb- 
able that  in  this  new  form  the  old  personification  may 
have  been  still  in  mind.  This  would  account  for  the 
fact  that  the  first  three  beasts  seem  to  be  still  in  existence 
after  the  fourth  is  destroyed,  and  continue  for  a  time  after 
the  judgment,  though  without  power  (v.  12).  This  could 
not  be  said  of  the  Babylonian,  Median  and  Persian  king- 
doms, but  might  be  said  of  their  spirit  counterparts. 

It  is  important  to  notice  that  our  writer  does  not  expect  influence  on 
a  human  deliverer  from  the  present  distress,  but  only  a  Messiah15  C 
divine.     A  hero  and  king  of  David's  line  and  of  David's 

1  According  to  2  Esdr.  13  :  1,  the  Son  of  Man  rises  from  the  heart  of  the  sea, 
and  it  must  be  confessed  that  the  expressions  used  in  Dan.  7  :  13  do  not  justify 
the  idea  of  Enoch  37-70,  that  he  comes  from  heaven  where  he  pre-exists.  He 
comes  not  from  God  but  to  him. 

*33 


The  Messages  oj  the 

type,  the  Messiah,  as  he  was  popularly  regarded,  could 
neither  save  Israel  in  this  supreme  peril,  nor  bring  to  pass 
so  transcendent  a  destination  for  the  true  people  of  God 
as  this  writer  hoped  for.  An  angel  counterpart  of  the 
Messianic  nation  therefore  displaces  the  human  repre- 
sentative. It  is  also  exceedingly  interesting  to  see  how, 
partly,  and  perhaps  even  largely,  under  the  influence  of 
this  passage,  the  Messiah  was  himself  later  on  lifted  up 
and  given  an  angelic  rather  than  a  Davidic  character.1 
So  that  although  in  Daniel  the  Messiah  is  displaced  by 
an  angelic  being,  yet  in  the  end  the  book  had  a  very  great 
influence  on  the  development  of  the  conception  of  Messiah, 
by  which  angelic  qualities  are  ascribed  to  him,  and  con- 
tributed to  the  process  by  which  a  part  of  Judaism  was 
prepared  to  accept  as  Messiah  one  who  renounced  the 
Davidic  ideal. 

3.  The  Four  World  Kingdoms  and  the  Kingdom  oj  God  (7) 

The  vision       In  the  first  year  of  Belshazzar  Daniel  had  a  dream- 
blasts"(i-3)  vision  at  night,  which  he  wrote  down  as  follows :  I  saw  a 

wind-tossed  sea,2  and  out  of  it  came  four  great  beasts,  one 

after  another. 
The  Baby-        The  noblest  of  the  four  was  the  first,  a  lion  with  vulture's 
kingdom  (4)  wings.     Its  wings  were  torn  off,  symbolizing  the  humbling 

of  its  soaring  pride  ;  but  then  it  was  raised  up  from  its 

1  Enoch  37-70. 

2  The  familiar  symbol  of  the  source  and  element  of  the  power  of  evil. 

*34 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

humiliation  and  given  the  appearance  and  mind  of  a 
man.1 

The  second  beast  was  like  a  bear,  half  reclining,  repre-  The  king- 
senting  a  voracious  and  insatiable,  but  slothful,  power.  Mede^sT 
Three  ribs  in  its  mouth  suggested  that  it  had  just  devoured 
a  kingdom  (or  three  kingdoms?),  and  it  was  summoned 
to  devour  yet  more.2 

The  third  beast  was  like  a  leopard  (or  panther)  with  The  king- 
four  wings  (suggesting  the  rapidity  and  range  of  its  move-  PeSiJf(6) 
ments),  and  four  heads,  that  is  four  kings.     The  world 
empire  was  given  to  this  kingdom.3 

Then  I  saw  a  fourth  beast,  too  terrible  in  aspect  and 
power  to  be  compa:ed  with  any  earthly  animal.     It  had 

1  To  be  understood  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  representing  the  first  and  best  of 
the  four  kingdoms,  the  head  of  gold  (2  :  37-38),  and  the  humiliation  through 
which  he  was  healed  of  his  heathen  arrogance  and  obtained  a  truly  human 
(Jewish)  character  (ch.  4). 

2  Probably  the  Medes,  in  accordance  with  2  :  3oa.  The  Medes  were  mer- 
ciless conquerors  during  the  Assyrian  and  Chaldean  periods,  yet  remained  an 
inferior  power.  The  character  of  the  Medes  is  described  in  Isa.  13  :  17-18; 
21  :  2  ;  Jer.  51  :  n,  28.  Since  the  first  beast  represented  Nebuchadnezzar 
personally,  it  has  been  suggested  that  the  second  is  Belshazzar,  the  luxurious, 
feasting  king.  But  this  is  less  probable.  It  is  true  that  the  king  and  the 
kingdom  were  almost  interchangeable  terms  to  our  writer  (cf.  7  :  17  with 
7  :  23-24). 

3  The  Persian  empire,  which  under  Cyrus  gained  the  position  of  the  ruling 
world  power.  So  in  2  :  3gb.  That  our  author  supposed  that  there  were 
only  four  kings  of  Persia  appears  from  11  :  2  (see  p.  157).  Those  who 
regard  the  second  beast  as  Belshazzar  are  obliged  to  make  this  the  Medo- 
Persian  empire  ;  but  this  is  not  in  accordance  with  our  writer's  view. 

J35 


The  Messages  oj  the 

The  Greek    iron  teeth  (and  brass  claws,  v.  19)  with  which  it  devoured 

Andochus     and  tore  in  pieces,  trampling  what  it  left  under  its  feet. 

i\  (7-8)  This  beast  had  ten  horns,  and  as  I  was  looking  at  it  an 
eleventh  came  up,  at  first  a  little  one,  yet  it  tore  out  three 
others  (and  became  greater  than  all,  v.  20).  This  horn 
had  human  eyes  and  mouth,  and  uttered  boastful  and 
insolent  words.1 

The  coming      I  then  had  a  vision  of  the  coming  of  God  as  judge.     His 

of  God  in  .  .  1  ,,,,?,  . 

judgment  appearance  was  that  of  an  aged  man/  clothed  in  white, 
seated  on  a  chariot  of  fire  3  and  surrounded  by  countless 
angels.4  The  court  sat  on  thrones  prepared  for  them,  and 
the  books  of  judgment  were  opened.  The  eleventh  horn 
was  even  then  uttering  his  boastful  words,  on  account  of 
which  the  beast  was  slain  and  consumed  with  fire.5  His 
fate  was  more  severe  than  that  of  the  three  who  preceded 
him,  for  they  were  left  in  existence  for  a  time,  though 
without  authority.8 

Then  I  saw  a  figure  like  a  man,  borne,  like  a  divine 
being,  on  clouds  to  God,  and  introduced  by  angels  into 

1  The  seer  could  not  attribute  to  a  horn  the  character  and  deeds  he  wished 
to  describe,  so  partly  drops  the  figure  and  lets  us  see  that  the  horn  is  a  man 
The  interpretation  of  this  beast  is  given  further  on  in  the  chapter. 

2  Cf.  Isa.  44  :  6  ;  Ps.  55  :  19.  3  Cf.  Ezek.  1:4,  13  ;  10  :  2,  6-7. 
4  Cf.  1  Kings  22  :  19  ;  Ex.  24  :  10 ;  Deut.  33  :  2. 

s  Cf.  Isa.  66  :  24. 

6  Their  destruction  was  not  involved  in  that  of  the  fourth,  as  it  was  in  2  :  34, 
35,  44,  45.  Perhaps,  however,  the  meaning  is  not  that  the  three  survived 
the  fourth,  but  that  in  the  past,  when  they  had  been  displaced,  it  had  been 
by  a  less  violent  catastrophe. 

Ij6 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

his  presence.     And  there  was  given  to  him  absolute  ruler-  The  corona- 
ship  over  all  nations  forever.1  rad's°repre- 

In  distress  and  perplexity  at  the  vision,  I  approached  f;^/1)6 
one  of  the  host  of  ministering  angels  and  asked  him  its  The  genera] 

9  mi        pi  mterpreta- 

meaning/     He  answered,  The  four  beasts  are  four  king- tkm  (15-18) 
doms  which  are  to  be,  but  the  holy  people  of  God  will  at 
last  receive  the  rule  and  hold  it  forever. 

I  asked  for  more  detail  concerning  the  fourth  beast  Questions 
and  especially  the  eleventh  horn,  adding  that  it  seemed  as  \o\hetTS 
larger  than  the  others,  and  that  I  had  seen  it  make  vie-  (^J1  J*351 
torious  war  against  the  true  Israelites  until  God's  inter- 
vention in  their  favor.3     The   angel  explained   that  the 
fourth  kingdom  (the  Greek)  would  differ  from  those  that 
preceded   it   in   that  it  would  crush   out  existing  states 
and  impose  its  own  new  political  forms  upon  conquered 
peoples.     The  ten  horns,  he  said,  are  ten  kings.4    The 

1  His  kingdom  has  the  characteristics  of  God's  (2  :  44 ;  4:3;  4  :  34 ; 
6  :  26),  and  is  evidently  identical  with  it. 

2  The  angel  interpreter  is  a  fixed  feature  in  apocalypses.  Dan.  8  names 
Gabriel  as  his  interpreter.  Ezek.  40-48  and  Zech.  1 :  7-6  :  8  already  have  such 
angel  guides  and  instructors. 

3  This  feature  has  no  place  in  the  original  vision  since  vv.  8  and  1 1  speak 
only  of  the  arrogance  and  impiety  of  this  king's  speech.  Some  regard  verses 
21-22  therefore  as  a  later  insertion,  interrupting  the  connection  of  question 
and  answer,  but  they  seem  to  be  required  by  v.  25. 

4  In  this  vision  the  dividing  of  Alexander's  kingdom  into  four  parts  is  not 
alluded  to,  as  it  is  in  8  : 8,  22  ;  n  :  4.  Since  the  eleventh  horn  is  Antiochus 
IV,  the  ten  are  probably  the  kings  of  the  Seleucid  line.  They  can  be  counted 
as  follows  :  1.  Alexander,  2.  Seleucus  I,  3.  Antiochus  I,  4.  Antiochus  II,  5. 
Seleucus  II,  6.  Seleucus  III,  7.  Antiochus  III,  8.  Seleucus  IV,  9.  Heliodorus, 
10.  Demetrius  I.     The  last  three,  however,  are  variously  reckoned  (see  p.  83). 

137 


The  Messages  of  the 

eleventh  will  gain  his  place  by  overthrowing  three  of  his 
predecessors.  He  will  blaspheme  God  and  persecute  God's 
people,  and  will  plan  to  stop  the  observance  of  the  legal 
ordinances  ;  and  he  will  even  succeed  in  this  for  three  and 
a  half  years.1  Then  will  come  the  judgment  and  he  shall 
be  destroyed,  and  the  kingdom  given  to  the  holy  people  of 
God,  the  Jews  (that  is,  the  law-abiding  Jews),  who  will  rule 
over  all  nations  for  all  time. 

Effect  of  the     This  disclosure  of  the  future  troubled  me,  but  I  kept  it 

vision  (28)    wholly  t0  mySelf. 

4.  Duration  of  the  Temple's  Desecration 

Almost  the  only  element  of  mystery  in  the  second  vision 
(ch.  8)  is  the  prediction  of  the  exact  length  of  time  during 
which  the  daily  sacrifices  of  the  temple  shall  be  omitted 
(8:14).  Apart  from  this  we  have  simple  history,  with 
only  the  thinnest  disguise  of  imagery,  and  with  no  dis- 
closures about  the  heavenly  or  angelic  background  of 
human  events. 

The  estimate  of  the  length  of  the  temple's  desecration, 
1 150  days,  is  hard  to  explain.  It  does  not  correspond  to 
the  three  and  a  half  years  of  7  :  25  and  12  :  7,  with  which 
the  1290  and  1335  days  of  12  :  11-12  are  more  nearly,  but 
not  exactly,  in  agreement.  These  last  numbers  are  more 
than  three  years  and  a  half,  and  we  can  imagine  that 
the  time  was  lengthened  because  of  events,  first  by  a  half 

1  On  this  period  see  pp.  144-46. 

138 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

month  or  so,  and  then  by  a  month  and  a  half  more.  But 
1 150  days  is  less  than  two  months  in  excess  of  three  years. 
Now  according  to  First  Maccabees  the  "desolating  ini- 
quity" was  erected  on  the  fifteenth  of  Kislev  (about  De- 
cember), 168  B.  C.  The  first  sacrifice  on  it  was  offered 
on  the  twenty-fifth.  The  restoration  was  accomplished 
exactly  three  years  after  the  latter  date  (1  Mac.  4  :  42-58). 
But  even  three  years  and  ten  days  falls  short  of  1150  days 
by  a  month  and  a  half.1  It  is  quite  conceivable  that  this 
number  was  added  after  the  rededication.  If  so  it  is 
probably  exact.  Just  2300  morning  and  evening  offerings 
had  been  omitted.  In  that  case  First  Maccabees  and  the 
tradition  of  an  exact  three  years  are  mistaken.2  If  on  the 
other  hand  the  number  belongs  to  Daniel  then  we  cannot 
tell  why  it  does  not  correspond  with  the  other  reckonings  of 
the  book. 

5.  The  Victorious  Alexander  and  the  Despotic 
Antiochus  (8) 

Two  years  later  I  had  another  vision.     I  seemed  to  be  The  ram, 
in  Susa,  the  capital  of  Elam,  the  residence  of  the  Persian  th?Medes 
kings.     I  was  by  the  river  Ulai  [Eulaeus],  when  I  saw  on  ?"f  )Persians 
the  opposite  side  ( ?)  of  the  river  a  ram  with  two  horns,  of 
which  the  higher  came  up  last.      The  ram  pushed  with 
irresistible  force  toward  the  west  and  north  and  south. 

1  From  60  to  17  days  according  to  the  reckoning  of  the  year. 

2  On  this  possibility  see  p.  105. 


The  Messages  oj  the 

The  goat  Then  from  the  west  I  saw  a  goat  coming  over  the  earth 

anditsgreat  with  incredible  speed,  as  if  on  wings.  It  had  one  great 
ander)AleX  norn>  and  when  it  came  with  furious  rage  against  the  ram 
(5-8)  it  overcame  and  destroyed  it.     But  in  the  midst  of  its 

career  the  great  horn  was  broken,  and  four  horns  came  up 
in  its  place  toward  the  four  points  of  the  compass. 

Out  of  one  of  them  came  a  little  horn  that  grew  very- 
fast  toward  the  south  and  east  and  toward  Palestine.  It 
made  war  not  only  against  these  countries  but  against  their 
religions,  even  casting  down  some  of  their  gods  [putting 
an  end  to  their  worship].1  Its  arrogance  was  so  great  that 
it  even  arose  against  the  supreme  God,  the  God  of  Israel, 
stopped  the  regular  daily  sacrifice  2  and  desecrated  his  tem- 
ple, erected  the  Iniquity  3  [the  altar  to  Zeus]  on  the  altar 
of  burnt  offering,  and  overthrew  the  true  religion.  And 
what  it  did  succeeded. 

Then  I  heard  one  angel  asking  another  how  long  this 
would  last — that  is,  the  cessation  of  the  daily  sacrifice, 
the  presence  of  the  heathen  altar  and  the  desolation  of  the 
temple.  The  answer  was,  for  1150  days,  until  2300  morn- 
ing and  evening  sacrifices  have  been  omitted  ;  then  shall 
faith  in  the  temple,  shaken  by  its  desecration,  be  justified 
by  its  restoration. 

As  I  tried  to  understand  the  vision  an  angel  stood  be- 

1  For  the  thought  that  the  stars  represent  or  are  the  gods  of  the  heathen 
see  Deut.  4  :  19  ;  32  :  8  LXX  ;  Isa.  24  :  21  ff. ;  En.  80  :  7. 

2  "The  continual,"  Ex.  29  :  42.        3  This  depends  on  a  revised  text. 

I40 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

fore  me  and  a  voice  from  the  river  addressed  him  as  Ga-  Gabriel  in- 
briel,  and  bade  him  interpret  the  vision  to  me.  At  his  ^slon  S 
approach  I  fell  down  in  terror,  but  he  said,  Know,  O  man,  ^s-26) 
that  the  vision  concerns  the  last  great  crisis  in  world  history. 
As  he  spoke,  I  fell  stunned  to  the  ground,  but  his  touch  re- 
vived me  and  brought  me  to  my  feet  ;  and  he  explained 
the  disclosures  of  the  vision  as  to  the  last  stages  of  history, 
the  final  manifestations  of  the  wrath  of  God,  as  follows : 
The  ram  with  two  horns  signifies  the  empire  of  the  Medes 
and  Persians.1  The  goat  is  Greece  ;  the  great  horn  is  its 
first  king  [Alexander  the  Great] ;  and  the  four  horns,  the 
four  Greek  kingdoms  into  which  his  realm  was  divided 
after  his  death.2  Toward  the  end  of  these  kingdoms,  when 
transgression — that  of  the  Greeks  and  Greek-minded  Jews 
— is  at  its  height,  a  bold  and  crafty  king  [Antiochus  IV, 
Epiphanes]  shall  arise.  With  great  and  malign  power  he 
will  operate  against  his  political  antagonists  and  against 
the  Jewish  people.  With  deceit  and  in  pride  he  will  cor- 
rupt many  Jews,3  and  even  oppose  God.     But  God  him- 

1  It  is  noteworthy  that  the  proper  names  of  the  nations  are  here  introduced 
as  they  are  not  in  chs.  2  and  7,  that  the  Babylonian  kingdom  is  passed  by, 
and  that  the  Median  and  Persian  appear  as  two  horns  of  one  beast.  They 
are  connected  also  in  5:  28  ;  6:  8,  12,  15,  but  distinguished  in  5:  31 ;  cf.  6:  28, 
and  in  9  :  1 ;  10  :  1 ;   11  :  1. 

2  Alexander  died  in  323  B.  C.  The  division  was  not  concluded  until  301  B.  C. 
Kassander  received  Macedonia  and  Greece  ;  Lysimachus,  Thrace  and  Bithy- 
nia  ;  Seleucus,  Syria,  Babylonia  and  other  eastern  countries  ;  Ptolemy,  Egypt. 

3  See  1  Mac.  1  :  30,  43.  Notice  the  progress  toward  greater  detail  about 
Antiochus,  which  reaches  its  end  in  ch.  11. 

141 


The  Messages  oj  the 

self,  and  not  man,  shall  smite  him.     The  polluted  sanct- 
uary will  in  truth  be  restored  in  1150  days.     All  this,  how- 
ever, concerns  a  remote   future.1     You  are   therefore  to 
keep  the  vision  secret. 
Effects  of  At  this  I  fainted  and  fell  ill,  and  was  kept   from   my 

(27)"S1°  duties  at  court  for  a  few  days  ;  and  still  in  spite  of  the 
angel's  interpretation  I  did  not  understand  the  vision  (or 
the  meaning  of  the  delay  and  secrecy?). 

6.   The  Seventy  Weeks  of  Years 

Aninterpre-  The  peculiarity  of  chapter  9  is  that  the  vision  con- 
prophecy  sists  in  the  interpretation  of  an  Old  Testament  passage. 
The  seer  is  puzzled  by  the  prediction  of  Jeremiah  (25  : 1 1  f . ; 
29 :  10)  that  the  exile  and  the  desolation  of  Jerusalem  would 
last  only  seventy  years,  whereas  the  post-exilic  period  had 
been  hardly  better  than  a  prolongation  of  Israel's  dis- 
persion and  subjection  to  foreigners,  and  now  under  An- 
tiochus  IV  the  situation  of  the  Jews  was  more  trying  and 
critical  than  ever,  and  the  state  of  the  temple  more  deplora- 
ble than  even  when  it  was  in  ruins.  He  prays  for  a  right 
understanding  of  the  prediction  and  feels  that  if  he  could 
interpret  it  he  would  have  not  only  the  explanation  of  the 
long  continuance  of  Israel's  troubles,  but  an  assurance  of 
the  near  approach  of  the  end. 

The  question  of  the  origin  and  first  meaning  of  the  sev- 
enty years  is  a  difficult  one.     If,  as  the  majority  of  critics 

1  That  is,  of  course,  from  the  assumed  standpoint  of  the  Exile. 
142 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

still  hold,  Jeremiah  is  its  author,  it  was  probably  not  his  The  seventy 
purpose  to  foretell  the  exact  length  of  the  exile,  but  rather,  JSeniah 
in  opposition  to  the  bright  hopes  of  the  people,  encouraged 
by  such  prophets  as  Hananiah  (Jer.  28  :  1-5),  to  affirm  his 
conviction  that  the  exile  would  last  a  long  time,  not  two 
years,  but  two  generations.  Those  who  went  away  would 
not  come  back,  but  only  their  descendants.  Seventy  years 
is  a  round  number  for  a  long  period.  It  is  a  human  life- 
time. In  Isaiah  23  :  15  ff.,  Tyre's  desolation  is  to  last 
seventy  years,  "like  the  days  of  one  king,"  which  may 
mean  the  lifetime  of  one  king,  or  the  length  of  one 
dynasty. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  the  exile  was  long,  as  Jeremiah  fore- 
told, though  not  precisely  as  long  as  he  expected.  From 
597  B.  C.  to  537  B.  C.  is  sixty  years,  and  from  586  B.  C.  to 
537  B.  C.  is  forty-nine  years.  It  is  possible  that  Jeremiah's 
prediction  stimulated  the  Jews  to  undertake  the  rebuilding 
of  the  temple  so  as  to  finish  it  just  seventy  years  after  its 
destruction  (586-516  B.  C).  This  is  confirmed  by  Zecha- 
riah,  a  prophet  of  the  rebuilding  of  the  temple,  who  re- 
fers to  seventy  years  as  the  time  of  God's  indignation 
against  Israel  (1:1257:5).  It  was  the  belief  of  later 
Judaism  that  Jeremiah's  prediction  had  been  literally  ful- 
filled (2  Chron.  36  :  21-22  ;  Ezra  1  :  1). 

What  now  was  the  interpretation  which  Daniel  hears  from  The 
Gabriel?     Many  divergent  views  have  been  propounded.  reinter- 
The  most  probable  one  may  be  briefly  stated  as  follows : preted 

143 


The  Messages  of  the 


The  first 
period, 
forty-nine 
years 


The  last 
period, 
seven  years 


The  seventy  years  are  to  be  reckoned  as  seventy  weeks l  of 
years,  that  is  as  490  years.  This  is  the  appointed  time  of 
Israel's  desolation.  It  is  divided  into  three  main  periods  of 
49,  434  and  7  years.  The  length  of  the  Exile  is  49  years  (v. 
25*),  from  the  time  of  Jeremiah's  prediction,  which  could  be 
identified  in  a  general  way  with  the  beginning  of  the  Exile 
itself,  either  to  the  time  of  the  edict  of  Cyrus  permitting 
the  return,  or  to  the  time  when  a  high-priest,  Joshua,  again 
stood  at  the  head  of  the  community ;  that  is,  in  either  case, 
from  about  586  to  537  or  536  B.  C.  This  first  period,  then, 
was  correctly  given,  and  its  forty-nine  years  may  in  part  have 
suggested  the  week-year  scheme.  The  last  period  of  seven 
years  extends  from  the  time  of  the  assassination  of  the  high- 
priest,  Onias  III,  or  that  of  the  end  of  the  legitimate  high- 
priesthood  with  the  appointment  of  Menelaus,  a  Benja- 
minite  (in  either  case  the  year  171  B.  C),  to  the  still  future 
restoration  of  the  temple  and  coming  of  the  Messianic  age. 
The  number  This  period  is  divided  into  halves  by  the  desecration  of  the 
onediaif  temple  by  Antiochus.  According  to  First  Maccabees,  this 
took  place  in  December,  168  B.  C.  The  writer  had  already 
experienced  this  event,  and  if  it  took  place  in  fact  just 
about  three  and  a  half  years  after  the  cutting  off  of  the 
legitimate  high-priesthood,  then  these  two  events,  the  most 
terrible  that  had  happened  to  the  Jews  since  the  Exile, 
would  themselves  furnish  a  clew  to  the  week -year  theory, 

1  The  word  weeks  as  here  written  (9  :  24)  has  the  same  letters  as  the  word 
seventy,  though  it  is  pronounced  differently. 

144 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

and  would  make  the  suggestion  natural  that  one  more 
half  week  remained,  and  that  then  the  coming  of  God 
would  make  a  final  end  of  the  rule  of  evil. 

The  fact  that  the  temple  was  rededicated  about  three 
years  after  its  violation,  and  that  Antiochus  died,  perhaps 
about  the  same  time  or  a  half  year  later,  must  have  been 
regarded  as  a  remarkable  vindication  of  the  message  of  the 
book,  even  though  not  an  exact  fulfilment.  Of  course,  on 
the  other  hand,  the  death  of  Antiochus  did  not  bring  with 
it  the  end  of  the  Greek  empire  and  the  beginning  of  the 
kingdom  of  Israel.  We  seem  to  have  evidence  of  efforts 
to  adjust  the  prediction  more  exactly  to  events,  first  in 
the  shorter  period,  1150  days,  given  in  8:14,  and  then 
in  the  lengthening  of  it  to  the  1290  days  of  12  :  n,  and  the 
1335  of  12  :  12. ! 

Some  think  that  the  number  3I  had  already,  long  before 
Daniel,  come  to  stand  for  the  length  of  the  reign  of  evil, 
or  of  its  last  and  highest  manifestations,2  but  no  plausible 
explanation  of  it  has  been  given.  If  historical  events 
suggested  it,  as  we  have  indicated,  theory  might  confirm  it. 
It  could  be  said  that  seven  being  the  number  of  perfec- 

1  1290  is  just  43  months  of  30  days.  It  could  be  therefore  the  longest  pos- 
sible 3J-2  years,  including  the  addition  of  an  intercalary  month.     Cl.  p.  138  f. 

2  Gunkel  (Sclwpjung  iind  Chaos,  pp  266-70,  390-01)  tries  to  make  3'i 
months  the  length  of  the  conflict  of  the  god  of  light  with  darkness,  from  the 
winter  solstice  till  the  prevalence  of  light  in  the  spring  equinox.  Hut  he  docs 
not  succeed  in  accounting  for  the  extra  half  month.  Furthermore,  evil  dom- 
inates during  the  whole  seven  years  according  to  Daniel 

145 


The  Messages  of  the 

tion,  three  and  a  half,  as  the  length  of  the  reign  of  evil, 
would  mean  that  it  would  not  run  its  full  course,  but  would 
be  cut  off  in  the  midst.  This  was  not,  however,  the  idea 
of  Daniel,  for  Antiochus  oppresses  the  Jews  and  violates 
their  religious  customs  for  seven  years,  and  it  is  the  last 
half  of  the  seven,  not  the  first,  that  brings  his  abomina- 
tions to  a  climax. 
The  middle  Now  between  the  seven  weeks  of  exile  (586-537-6  B.  C), 
years  ' 434  and  the  one  week  of  the  persecutions  of  Antiochus  (171- 
164  B.  C),  is  a  period  in  fact  of  about  366  years.  Of  this 
the  writer  is  obliged,  in  order  to  carry  through  his  inter- 
pretation of  Jeremiah's  seventy  weeks,  to  make  sixty-two 
weeks  of  years,  434  years,  or  from  sixty -seven  to  sixty-eight 
too  many.  This  discrepancy  has  led  many  scholars  to 
attempt  some  other  explanation  of  the  first  or  of  the  last 
period,  but  none  has  been  proposed  that  fits  so  well.  It  is 
therefore  probable  that  the  writer  did  not  know  exactly  the 
length  of  the  post-exilic  period,  but  that  according  to  his 
estimate  it  was  not  far  from  the  sixty-two  weeks  required 
by  his  theory.  There  is  no  great  difficulty  in  this  supposi- 
tion, since  no  means  were  then  at  hand  for  constructing 
an  accurate  chronology  of  the  period,  and  as  a  matter  of 
fact  just  such  an  error  as  this  is  made  by  Josephus,  who 
reckons  the  time  from  the  return  out  of  exile  to  several 
events  of  the  Maccabean  period  and  of  his  own  time  at 
from  thirty  to  sixty  years  too  long,  and  Demetrius,  not  far 
from  Daniel's  age  (about  200  B.  C),  reckons  the  time 

146 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

from  the  fall  of  Israel  to  Ptolemy  IV  (722  B.  C.-222  B.  C.) 
as  573  years,  making  almost  the  same  excess  as  Daniel. 

7.  The  Explanation  of  Jeremiah's  Seventy  Years  (9) 

In  the  first  year  of  Darius  I  marked  in  the  Scriptures  Daniel's 
the  number  of  years  which  Jeremiah  revealed  as  the  length  a^to  jer.y 
of  the   desolation   of  Jerusalem,   namely   seventy  years.  *s :  \l~(*_\ 
Since  this  time  had  long  past,  and  the  Jews  were  still  suf- 
fering at  the  hands  of  the  heathen,  and  the  temple  was 
desolated  anew,  I  could  not  understand  the  prediction, 
and  earnestly  prayed  for  light  upon  its  meaning. 

My  prayer  l  was  a  confession  that  our  Jewish  people  His  prayer 
had  fully  deserved  the  lengthening  of  our  distress,  and  an  ^4_I9' 
earnest  petition  that  it  might  now  come  to  an  end,  not  for 
our  desert,  but  for  the  honor  of  God's  own  name. 

While  I  was  praying  Gabriel  came  near  to  me,  at  the  time  Gabriel 
of  the  evening  offering,  and  said  that  he  had  been  sent  at  fnt^preter11 
the  very  beginning  of  my  prayer,  to  bring  me,  as  one  loved  (2°~*3) 
of  God,  the  interpretation  of  the  passage  that  troubled  me. 

It  is,  he  said,  not  seventy  years,  but  seventy  weeks  of 

1  The  prayer  should  be  about  the  meaning  of  Jeremiah,  and  the  answer 
does  concern  simply  this.  Hence  it  may  be  that  this  prayer  of  general  con- 
fession and  supplication  on  behalf  of  God's  people  is  a  later  addition,  like 
the  apocryphal  Prayer  of  Azarius  and  Song  of  the  Three  Children  inserted  at 
3:21.  Notice  that  v.  4*  repeats  v.  3,  and  that  v.  20  repeats  v.  21,  whereas 
v.  21  follows  v.  3  well;  also  that  "  Jehovah"  is  used  here  only,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  v.  2,  where  it  may  be  due  to  the  influence  of  the  later  passage  or  of  the 
Old  Testament  citation. 

147 


The  Messages  oj  the 

His  inter-  years,  that  Israel  and  Jerusalem  were  destined  to  suffer 
024-r7)n  f°r  their  sins,  and  only  after  the  490  years  are  ended  will 
the  prophetic  vision  be  confirmed,  the  sins  of  Israel  atoned 
for,  and  the  Messianic  age  introduced  with  the  reconse- 
cration  of  the  polluted  temple.  You  may  recognize  just 
how  near  the  end  is  by  observing  the  divisions  into  which 
the  seventy  times  seven  years  fall.  Seven  weeks,  forty- 
nine  years,  passed  from  the  time  of  Jeremiah's  oracle  to 
the  rise  of  an  anointed  prince  1  (Cyrus,  or  more  probably 
Joshua,  the  first  high -priest  of  the  new  temple).2 

The  second  period,  that  of  the  rebuilding  of  Jerusalem 
and  the  straitened  times  that  followed,  is  sixty-two  weeks, 
434  years.  At  the  end  of  this  period  an  anointed  (priest) 
shall  be  cut  off  (or  the  succession  of  legitimate  high-priests 
shall  be  broken  off),  and  shall  have  no  (successor?).3   Then 

1  Jer.  25  :  u,  12  was  spoken  in  605  or  604  B.  C.  (25  :  1),  and  29  :  10  in 
596  B.  C.  Perhaps  the  author  meant  rather  the  beginning  of  the  Exile 
itself,  586  B.  C. 

2  Cyrus  is  called  Jehovah's  Anointed  in  Isaiah  45  :  1.  It  is  more  probable, 
however,  that  Joshua,  the  anointed  high-priest-o'f  the  new  temple,  is  meant, 
for  in  9  :  26  the  word  is  used  of  the  high-priest.     Cf.  Lev.  4  :  3,  5,  16  ;  6  :  22. 

3  One  of  the  guesses  made  to  fill  up  an  incomplete  sentence,  "  He  shall  have 

no ."     Perhaps  "he  shall  have  naught,"  no  helper,  no  name.      Some 

prefer,  "Without  judicial  sentence,"  or  "  without  guilt."  With  the  death  of 
Onias  III  (2  Mac.  4  :  34),  or  with  the  appointment  of  Menelaus  (2  Mac. 
4  :  23  ff.)  in  171  B.  C,  the  direct  line  of  priests  was  broken  off  (p.  91  f.). 
As  a  matter  of  fact  the  end  was  final,  for  the  Maccabean  rulers  must  needs 
assume  the  high-priesthood,  though  they  were  not  in  the  line,  and  when  they 
came  to  an  end,  with  the  Roman  period,  the  office  of  high-priest  came  to  be 
1  matter  of  Herodian  or  Roman  appointment. 

I48 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

shall  the  Greeks  and  their  king,  Antiochus,  lay  waste 
Jerusalem  and  the  temple,  and  the  final  period  shall  be 
one  of  desolation  and  war.  Antiochus  shall  gain  the  co- 
operation of  many  Jews  in  his  effort  to  root  out  the  Jewish 
religion  *  for  a  week,  that  is,  seven  years  ;  and  for  the  second 
half  of  this  period  the  temple  sacrifices  shall  cease  altogether, 
and  in  their  place  that  astounding  abomination,  an  altar  to 
Zeus,  shall  be  set  up,  to  remain  until  judgment  falls  upon 
the  sacrilegious  kingdom. 

8.  History  in  the  Form  of  Vision 

The  last  vision  of  Daniel  (chs.  10-12)  consists  simply  in  Character  of 
the  sight  of  the  angel  Gabriel,  and  the  hearing  of  his  words,  vision*  of 
There  is  no  vision  of  God  or  of  symbolic  figures  represent-  Jj-story  as 
ing  historical  nations,  persons,  or  events.     Gabriel  does  in- 
deed disclose  some  significant  happenings  in  the  angel  world 
with  which  the  fortunes  of  Israel  are  intimately  connected, 
but  all  he  tells  about  angelic  and  human  history,  past  and 
future,   is   in   literal   language,   not   in   figure.     There  is 
indeed  a  certain  air  of  mystery  which  belongs  to  the  apoc- 
alypse, and  without  which  the  telling   of   history  in  the 
form  of  prediction  would  be  too  transparent.     Yet  this 

1  The  passage  is  difficult  and  may  need  revision.  The  word  covenant  in 
Daniel  elsewhere  means  religion,  or  religious  practices  (n  :  22,  28,  30,  32), 
and  here  the  original  text  may  have  meant  that  many  should  be  without  re- 
ligion for  seven  years,  or  that  religious  rites  would  cease  for  that  time.  The 
temple  rites  under  Menelaus,  from  171  B.  C.  on,  would  be  illegal  and  void, 
and  after  December,  168  B.  C,  even  these  rites  would  cease. 

149 


The  Messages  oj  the 

impression  of  mystery  is  produced  chiefly  by  a  suppression 
of  the  names  of  the  personal  actors  in  the  scene.  The 
names  of  the  nations  are  in  part  used,  though  here  also  a 
paraphrase  often  takes  their  place.  The  Ptolemies  are 
the  kings  of  the  south,  the  Seleucids  the  kings  of  the  north. 
The  account  of  the  history  of  these  two  divisions  of  Alex- 
ander's empire  is  given  in  detail,  and  we  are  able  at  almost 
every  point  to  supply  names  and  dates  with  certainty. 
As  the  writer  is  a  contemporary  of  Antiochus  IV  it  is 
natural  that  his  account  should  be  fullest  at  this  point. 
In  fact  his  history  of  Antiochus  is  not  only  confirmed  by 
First  and  Second  Maccabees  and  Polybius,  but  enables  us 
to  supplement  these  sources,  and  is  an  important  original 
document  of  the  period. 
As  pseu-  Yet  though  this  vision  contains  almost  undisguised  his- 

tory, its  visionary  character  is  especially  emphasized.  The 
long  period  of  fasting  and  prayer  which  led  to  it,  and  the 
overwhelming  impression  it  made  on  the  seer  are  elabo- 
rately described.  The  pseudepigraphic  character  of  this 
vision  cannot  be  questioned,  and  the  conscious  art  with 
which  this  strange  literary  device  is  here  carried  through 
it  is  impossible  to  deny.  It  professes  to  be  a  story  of  far 
future  events,  told  to  the  seer  during  the  reign  of  Cyrus, 
by  Gabriel,  and  the  fact  that  the  story  has  remained  so 
long  unknown  is  explained  as  due  to  the  hiding  and  sealing 
of  the  book,  by  order  of  the  revealing  angel,  until  the  end 
came  near  (10  :  14  ;  12  :  4,  5-13).    It  is  hard  to  doubt  that 

*5° 


donymous 
vision 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

this  device  was  used  to  gain  for  the  book  greater  respect 
and  credence  in  the  period  of  its  actual  publication. 

The  late  date  of  the  writing  is  unmistakably  revealed  Its  date 
by  the  fact  that  there  are  probably  errors,  certainly  striking 
omissions  and  abbreviations,  in  the  early  part  of  the  his- 
tory, and  that  the  writer's  knowledge  and  interest  increase 
as  the  reign  of  Antiochus  IV  is  approached,  and  culmi- 
nate in  that  reign.  At  a  certain  easily  recognizable  point, 
however,  namely  at  n  :  40,  the  agreement  of  the  angel's 
disclosures  with  known  history  ceases,  and  we  have  an 
account  of  a  third  and  triumphant  invasion  of  Egypt  by 
Antiochus,  and  his  death  in  Palestine  on  his  return,  which 
is  not  in  accordance  with  the  facts.  At  that  point  evi- 
dently the  form  of  prediction  passes  over  into  prediction 
proper,  and  that  is  of  course  the  point  at  which  the  writer 
himself  stands. 

The  supernatural  element  in  the  history  itself  appears  in  The  angelic 
a  highly  developed  form,  though  it  makes  only  an  incidental  of  human"1 
part  of  Gabriel's  communications.     In  a  manner  more  ^story 
elaborate  than  elsewhere  in  the  Old  Testament  the  con- 
ception is  worked  out  that  conflicts  of  angels  underlie  and 
explain  and  condition  the  conflicts  of  nations.     The  post- 
exilic  history  is  revealed  as  being,  behind  its  human  and 
earthly  surface,  a  conflict  of  Gabriel  and  Michael,  Israel's 
prince,  first  with  the  angel  of  Persia,  and  then  with  the 
angel  of  Greece.     The  greatness  of  Daniel's  revelation  is 
magnified  by  the  representation  that  it  is  not  a  mere  angel 


The  Messages  oj  the 

of  revelation  who  visits  Daniel  and  tells  him  God's  pur- 
poses, but  that  the  chief  combatant  in  those  heavenly  wars 
leaves  his  toils  for  a  while  and  hastens  to  Daniel  in  answer 
to  his  prayer  (10:12-13,  20-11:1).  That  this  angel, 
though  here  unnamed,  is  Gabriel,  is  a  natural  inference 
from  the  identity  of  his  office  with  that  ascribed  to  Gabriel 
in  8  :  16  ff.,  9  :  21  ff.  But  if  so,  then  Gabriel  is  more  than 
the  angel  of  revelation,  the  spirit  of  prophecy.  He  ap- 
pears to  be  the  chief  antagonist  in  God's  cause  against 
the  angels  of  heathen  powers.  Michael,  he  says,  helped 
him  in  his  conflicts  with  the  princes  of  Persia  and  Greece, 
and  was  the  only  one  on  his  side.  His  position,  therefore, 
seems  to  be  higher  than  Michael's,  who  was  one  of  the 
nation-princes  among  others,  though  as  Israel's  prince  he 
was  superior  to  the  rest.  According  to  Enoch  40,  Ga- 
briel's task  is  intercession,  and  he  "is  set  over  all  the 
powers."  l 
Antiochusas  Another  important  idea,  for  which  the  earlier  visions 
Antichrist  j^ye  prepare(j  us>  js  that  the  power  of  evil  in  the  world 
comes  to  its  height,  and  to  its  consummate  manifestation 
in  an  individual  man.  The  description  of  Antiochus,  espe- 
cially in  1 1  :  36  ff.,  has  something  demoniacal  about  it.  It  is 
almost  cited  by  Paul  in  Second  Thessalonians  2  :  4,  in  de- 
scribing the  coming  "man  of  sin."  In  fact,  in  the  figure  of 
Antichrist,  the  human  representative  of  Satan  and  counter- 

1  Had  he  perhaps  taken  on  the  qualities  of  the  old  "  angel  of  Jehovah,"  for 
which  his  name  "Man  of  God,"  or  "Hero  of  God,"  would  fit  him? 

1S2 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

part  of  the  Christ  becomes  a  really  superhuman  being. 
It  is  probable  that  this  figure  was  not  first  fashioned  by 
Christians  as  the  antithesis  of  Christ,  but  was  developed 
in  Jewish  eschatology,  and  that  its  germ  is  to  be  found 
in  Daniel's  description  of  Antiochus.  This  demonizing 
of  Antiochus  was  a  natural  result  of  his  deification  of 
himself,  taken  in  connection  with  his  almost  insane  ca- 
priciousness  of  nature  and  his  violence  and  rage  against 
the  Jews.  Nero,  with  a  somewhat  similar  character, 
took  up  the  same  role  in  later  eschatology,  Jewish  and 
Christian. 

Another  significant  feature  of  the  vision  is  the  concep-  The  doctrine 
tion  of  resurrection,  which  appears  here  for  the  first  time  don6SUrreC 
in  Jewish  writings  in  definite  form,  as  if  it  were  an  estab- 
lished doctrine.1  In  regard  to  this  we  notice  that  it  is 
not  a  universal  resurrection  that  is  expected,  and  that 
(unlike  Isa.  26  :  19  ;  compare  v.  14)  it  is  not  the  righteous 
only  who  are  to  rise.  "Many"  will  rise,  some  to  shame,  and 
some  to  eternal  life,  while  for  the  author's  inner  circle  of 
the  wise  there  awaits  an  exceptional  star-like  glory.  Ap- 
parently resurrection  is  only  for  the  most  ill-deserving  on 
the  one  side,  and  the  best-deserving,  the  small  circle  of  law- 
abiding  Jews,  on  the  other  ;  perhaps  the  Hellenizing  apos- 
tates of  the  immediate  past,  or  perhaps  the  persecutors  of 
Judaism  in  all  ages,  and  the  faithful  kernel,  especially 

1  It  is  found  in  Isa.  26  :  19,  in  vaguer  form.     The  date  of  the  section  (chs. 
24-27)  is  late,  but  whether  earlier  or  later  than  Daniel  is  not  certain. 

153 


The  Messages  oj  the 

those  who  have  suffered  martyrdom.1  It  is  most  note- 
worthy that  one  who  has  attained  the  great  faith  in  re- 
wards and  punishments  after  death  should  give  it  still  so 
subordinate  a  place  in  his  predictions.  It  is  still  the  nation 
and  its  fortunes  that  form  the  centre  of  his  interest,  as  of 
the  prophets  before  him.  The  individual  hope  could  not 
indeed  displace  the  national  so  long  as  it  was  only  a  part 
of  it  and  depended  wholly  upon  it.  It  is  not  heavenly 
blessedness  after  death  for  which  the  writer  hopes,  but 
first  of  all  and  last  of  all  the  coming  of  Israel  to  its  destined 
kingship.  But  he  has  the  hope  that  those  who  have  died 
in  fidelity  to  Israel's  faith  and  law  will  rise  to  share  Israel's 
glory,  to  rejoice  in  it  and  to  add  to  it.  Yet  though  sub- 
ordinate to  the  national  hope,  and  only  a  part  of  it,  the  rise 
of  the  individual  hope  is  immensely  significant.  It  is  per- 
secution and  martyrdom  that  brings  this  faith,  which  may 
have  been  more  or  less  current  before,  to  the  front,  and 
gives  it  a  recognized  and  significant  place  in  the  Jewish 
religion.  What  courage  it  must  have  given  in  that  great 
emergency  to  those  who  if  they  remained  true  to  their  con- 
victions must  fall  by  the  sword  and  by  flame  ! 

This  hope  for  the  individual,  having  once  established 
itself  in  the  inner  religious  circle  of  Judaism,  could  not 
but  grow  to  ever-increasing  importance.     The  growth  was, 

1  If  in  12  :  13  it  is  said  that  the  Daniel  of  the  Exile  is  to  rise  from  the  grave, 
then  we  may  suppose  the  resurrection  to  include  the  great  heroes  of  the 
Israelitish  religion,  however  long  they  may  have  been  resting,  waiting  for 
the  end. 

154 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

indeed,  slow,  but  the  place  of  the  belief  in  resurrection 
as  a  fixed  dogma  of  Pharisaism  in  the  time  of  Christ  marks 
its  outcome,  and  is  one  of  the  most  important  steps  forward 
that  Judaism  took  in  the  interval  between  the  Old  Testa- 
ment and  the  New. 

g.  An  Angel's  Interpretation  of  History  and  its  Consum- 
mation (10-12) 

In  the  third  year  of  Cyrus,  in  Daniel's  old  age,1  he  had  a  Vision  of  an 
true  vision  concerning  a  great  suffering.  After  three  weeks  ang  ^ 
of  fasting,  as  I  was  by  the  river  Tigris,  I  saw  an  angel 
dressed  in  linen,  glorious  and  resplendent  in  appearance, 
like  gold  and  jewels  and  fire,2  after  the  likeness  of  the 
angel  that  Ezekiel  saw  (Ezek.  9:2),  and  of  his  vision  of 
the  chariot  of  God  and  its  fiery  bearers  (Ezek.  1,  10). 

This  vision  was  not  seen  by  those  about  me,  though  a  Effect  of  the 
sense  of  dread  came  over  them  and  they  fled  away.     On  DanielUP°n 
me  its  effect  was  the  loss  of  all  strength,  though  not  of  con-  (?-") 
sciousness.     I  fell  as  if  in  a  heavy  sleep  with  my  face  to 
the  ground,  but  the  hand  of  the  angel  raised  me  up  on 
my  hands  and  knees,  and  at  his  encouraging  word,  still 
trembling,  I  arose. 

Then  he  said,  Do  not  fear,  for  I  come  in  answer  to  your 
prayer  to  tell  you  of  the  future.     I  should  indeed  have 

1  The  third  year  of  Cyrus  would  be  about  70  years  after  the  coming  of 
Daniel  to  Nebuchadnezzar's  court. 

2  The  angel  is  probably  Gabriel,  cf.  8  :  16  ff. ;  0  :  21  ff. 

155 


The  Messages  oj  the 

The  angel  come  three  weeks  ago  at  the  very  beginning  of  your  prayer, 
delay  1S  if  I  na-d  not  been  detained  during  all  that  time  by  a  conflict 
(12-14)  with  the  angel-prince  of  Persia.  But  Michael  came  to 
help  me,  and  I  was  thus  enabled  to  come  to  you  to  reveal 
the  final  fortunes  of  your  people. 
Further  con-  I  could  not  answer  this  glorious  being  until  another 
DanieiTnd  angel,  of  more  human  appearance,1  touched  my  mouth. 
Oio^f-1  Then  I  could  only  say,  in  apology  for  my  silence,  O  my 
11  :i)  lord,  the  vision  has  seized  upon  me  like  a  woman's  travail 

and  made  me  powerless.  How  can  such  a  one  as  I  speak 
to  such  as  you?  With  this  the  power  to  speak  left  me 
again.  I  was  again  strengthened  by  a  divine  touch,  and 
by  Gabriel's  heartening  words,  and  enabled  to  ask  for  his 
message.  He  said,  I  have  come,  as  you  know,  to  tell  you 
the  future  as  it  is  written  in  the  book  of  God's  purposes; 
but  I  must  be  brief,  for  I  must  return  to  the  conflict  with 
the  angel  of  Persia,  which  I  have  just  left  unfinished,  and 
after  that  I  shall  contend  with  the  angel  of  Greece.2  In 
these  conflicts  Michael,  the  prince  of  Israel,  is  the  only 
one  who  helps  me.  I  for  my  part  helped  him  in  the  na- 
tional crisis  when  the  Median  succeeded  the  Babylonian 
world  empire.3 

1  Gabriel,  too,  is  "a  man,"  but  not  like  men  in  his  appearance  (10  :  5-6). 

2  There  is  a  long  interval  between  Cyrus  (10:  1)  and  Alexander,  but  per- 
haps the  writer  means  that  there  is  an  angelic  warfare  during  the  whole  of  the 
Persian  period  and  then  during  the  Greek  rule  that  followed  it. 

3  This  which  is  our  reading  of  n  :  1  is  hard  to  interpret,  for  the  suggestion 
that  it  was  through  Michael's  efforts,  aided  by  Gabriel,  that  the  Median  and 

156 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

Now  as  to  the  future,  this  is  to  be  its  course  :  There  will  The  con- 
be  three  more  kings  of  Persia,  that  is,  four  in  all.1     The  peSa°by 
fourth,  the  richest  of  all  [Xerxes  I],  shall  make  a  great  ex-  ^x^dNr 
pedition  against  Greece.     But  a  mighty  Greek  conqueror 
shall   arise  [Alexander  the  Great],  whose  kingdom,  how- 
ever, shall  not  remain  in  its  greatness,  nor  be  bequeathed 
to  his  sons,  but  shall  be  divided  into  four  parts  2  under 
four  of  his  generals.3 

The  king  of  Egypt  [Ptolemy  I,  305-285  B.  C.]  shall  be 
strong,  but  not  so  strong  as  the  king  of  Syria  [Seleucus  I, 
312-280  B.  C],  who  was  once  his  subordinate,  but  whose 

Persian  kingdoms  were  made  relatively  friendly  to  the  Jews  is  venturesome. 
Perhaps  the  text  is  corrupt.  Marti  reads  it  in  the  following  order  :  vv.  20. 
2ib;  11  :  ib  ("who  stood  up  to  help  and  protect  me"),  2ia.  He  omits 
11  :  ia,  as  wrongly  inserted  after  the  analogy  of  7  : 1 ;  8:1;  9:1;  10  :  1.  Cf. 
Bevan.     The  LXX  and  Theodotion  read  "Cyrus"  for  "Darius  the  Mede." 

1  In  Ezra  4  :  5-7  four  Persian  kings  are  named  :  Cyrus  (558-529  B.  C), 
Darius  I  (521-486  B.  C),  Xerxes  I  (485-465  B.  C),  Artaxerxes  I  (464-424 
B.  C).  These  four  names  are  all  that  the  Old  Testament  knows  ;  though  the 
Darius  of  Neh.  12 :  22  is  probably  Darius  III.  The  writer  of  Daniel  seems  here 
to  affirm  that  there  were  only  four  in  all,  just  as  in  7  : 6  the  Persian  beast  has 
four  heads ;  and  evidently  the  fourth  is  Xerxes  I,  who  made  the  expedition 
against  Greece,  ending  in  defeat  at  Salamis  in  480  B.  C.  The  next  verse 
passes  immediately  to  Alexander's  conquest  of  Persia  against  Darius  III,  in 
333  B.  C.  ;  and  the  impression  is  certainly  given  that  the  king  that  invades 
Greece  is  the  one  that  Alexander  overthrows.  It  is,  to  be  sure,  difficult  to 
suppose  such  an  error  in  a  writer  who  makes  too  long,  not  too  short,  a  reckon- 
ing of  the  period  of  Persiar  and  Greek  dominion  (9  :  25,  26). 

2  See  note  on  8  :  22. 

3  The  history  of  the  two  of  these  parts  of  Alexander's  kingdom  with  which 
Palestine  had  to  do,  Egypt  and  Syria,  follows. 

157 


The  Messages  o)  the 


Relations  of  rule  shall  be  greater  than  his.  Some  years  later  [248  B.  C] 
Ptolemies  Egypt  and  Syria  shall  be  brought  into  alliance  by  the  mar- 
rids  (5-9T  riage  of  tne  Syrian  king  [Antiochus  II,  267-247  B.  C]  to 
the  daughter  of  the  king  of  Egypt  [Berenice,  daughter  of 
Ptolemy  II,  285-247  B.  C.].  But  this  effort  to  make  peace 
between  the  two  kingdoms  shall  come  to  a  disastrous  end 
in  the  death  of  the  wife  and  her  adherents  and  of  her  father 
the  king  of  Egypt.1  Her  brother,  however  [Ptolemy  III, 
247-221  B.  C],  shall  succeed  to  the  kingdom  of  Egypt,  and 
shall  take  vengeance  upon  the  Syrian  king  [Seleucus  II, 
246-226  B.  C.].  He  shall  defeat  him,  and  shall  enter  the 
fortress  of  Seleucus  and  carry  away  idols  and  golden  and 
silver  vessels  as  spoils.  A  retaliatory  effort  of  Seleucus 
against  Egypt  shall  fail  [240  B.  C.].2 

His  son,3  on  the  contrary,  shall  be  a  mighty  and  suc- 
cessful warrior,  and  shall  proceed  with  a  great  force  against 
Ccele-Syria  and  Palestine  [219-218  B.  C.].  Then  he  shall 
return  to  his  fortress,4  and  shall  undertake  a  campaign 
against  Egypt  [217  B.  C.J  The  king  of  Egypt  [Ptolemy 
IV]  shall  come  against  him  and  gain  a  great  victory  [at 


Antiochus 
III  the 
Great 
(10-19) 


1  Antiochus  II  was  poisoned  by  his  former  wife,  and  Berenice  and  her 
child  and  adherents  were  murdered  (247  B.  C).  Ptolemy  II  also  died  in  the 
same  year. 

2  Ptolemy  III  in  fact  shook  the  Syrian  kingdom  to  its  foundations. 

3  At  this  point  the  writer  passes  over  Seleucus  III,  226-222  B.  C,  unless  we 
are  to  read  here,  "his  sons."  But  as  only  one  son,  Antiochus  III,  went 
against  Egypt,  we  should  probably  read  with  the  LXX,  "his  son." 

4  Gaza  (Driver),  or  Raphia  (Marti). 

158 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

Raphia  in  217  B.  C],  slaying  multitudes.  But  though 
elated  at  his  success  he  shall  not  show  himself  a  man  of 
strength  by  following  up  his  victory.  Some  years  later 
Antiochus  shall  return,  after  notable  victories  in  the  East, 
with  a  greater  army  than  before  against  the  boy  king 
[Ptolemy  V,  204  B.  C.].  In  this  assault  Antiochus  shall  be 
helped  by  allies  [Philip  of  Macedon  and  some  insurgents  in 
Egypt  itself].  Moreover  some  among  the  Jews,  a  party  of 
''the  violent,"  shall  favor  Antiochus  and  seek  to  bring  Pal- 
estine under  Syrian  in  place  of  Egyptian  rule,  thus  work- 
ing indeed  for  the  fulfilment  of  prophecy — whi  h  requires 
the  subjection  of  the  Jews  to  the  terrible  son  oi  Antiochus 
— but  bringing  upon  themselves  destruction.1  Then 
Antiochus  shall  come  and  first  besiege  and  take  Sidon, 
where  the  Egyptian  force  has  taken  refuge,  and  then 
utterly  break  Egyptian  power  in  Syria  [198  B.  C.].  With 
Palestine  wholly  in  his  power  he  will,  from  that  vantage 
ground  threaten  Egypt  with  destruction.2  He  will  plan 
its  complete  subjugation  and  hope  to  accomplish  this  by 
an  agreement  according  to  which  he  gives  his  daughter 
[Cleopatra]  to  Ptolemy  in  marriage,3  with  the  object  of 

1  This  is  one  interpretation  of  v.  14  f.  Perhaps,  however,  the  allusion  is  to 
the  vain  effort  of  some  zealot  Jews  to  secure  national  independence,  and  so 
bring  about  the  fulfilment  of  Messianic  prophecy  (Bevan). 

2  At  this  point  Syrian  rule  over  Palestine  completely  and  finally  displaces 
that  of  Egypt.  This  was  settled  by  Antiochus's  victory  over  the  Egyptian 
general  Scopas  at  Panium.     Some  put  the  date  earlier,  about  200  B.  C. 

3  They  were  not  married  until  193  B.  C. 

J59 


The  Messages  of  the 

destroying  the  Egyptian  kingdom.     But  this  object  shall 
fail.     After  this  [from  197  B.  C.  on]  he  shall  go  against  the 
coast-lands  [of  Asia  Minor],  most  of  whose  cities  shall 
submit  to  him  ;   but  the  Roman  general,  Lucius  Scipio, 
shall  bring  overwhelming  defeat  upon  him  in  a  great  bat- 
tle [that  of  Magnesia,  in  190  B.  C],  and  compel  him  to 
relinquish  all  his  gains  [in  Asia  Minor  and  Europe]  and 
make  peace  on  most  humiliating  terms.     Retiring  to  the 
fortresses  of  his  own  land  he  shall  there  meet  a  violent  end.1 
The  reign  of      He  shall  be  succeeded  by  his  son  [Seleucus  IV,   187- 
iv,  Piiifo-     I75  B.  C],  whose  officer  shall  exact  tribute  of  the  Jews,2 
pator  (20)     kut  tkjg  kmg  ghgjj  perish  shortly,  not  in  open  conflict  but 

by  a  plot.3 
The  reign  of  The  next  king  will  be,  not  the  son  and  heir  of  Seleucus 
IV,  Epiph-  [Demetrius,  who  was  a  prisoner  in  Rome],  but  his  brother, 
KTcSr-  a  despicable  man  who  gains  the  throne  by  intrigue  and 
act«r  and  address  [Antiochus  IV,  Epiphanes,  175-164  B.  C.].4  Op- 
(21-24)  position  shall  vanish  before  him.  He  shall  even  depose 
the  Jewish  high -priest  [Onias  III,  in  174  B.  C.].  When 
he  makes  a  league  with  anyone  he  shall  at  once  scheme  to 

1  He  was  killed  in  187  B.  C.  by  the  people  of  Elymais,  whose  temple  of  Bel 
he  robbed,  to  help  pay  the  tribute  demanded  by  Rome. 

2  He  had  to  pay  1000  talents  a  year  to  the  Romans  for  nine  years.  Accord- 
ing to  2  Mac.  3  :  1-40,  he  attempted  to  rob  the  temple.  Some,  however, 
think  the  verse  means  that  with  Seleucus  the  royal  dignity  declined. 

3  At  the  hand  of  his  minister,  Heliodorus.  Our  author  may  have  thought 
Antiochus  IV  the  instigator  of  the  murder  (7  :  8,  24). 

4  With  what  follows  the  reader  should  compare  the  account  of  Antiochus 
on  pp.  82-97. 

l6o 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

get  the  better  of  his  ally.  By  his  power  of  deception  and 
intrigue  he  shall  gain  great  advantages,  though  his  forces 
be  small.  He  shall  know  how  to  acquire  power  and  get 
the  better  of  opponents  by  trickery,  acting  more  dishonor- 
ably than  his  predecessors.  He  shall  be  lavish  with  gifts 
and  bribes,  and  shall  scheme  against  the  fortresses  of  his 
enemies  for  a  fixed  time.1 

He  shall  make  a  great  expedition  against  Egypt  [about  His  first 
169  B.  C.].2    The  Egyptian  king  [his  nephew,  Ptolemy  agZsT 
VI,  Philometor]  shall  resist  him  with  a  powerful  army,  but  f^X) 
shall  not  succeed  because  of  treachery.     Some  of  his  own 
court  shall  betray  him,  and  his  army  shall  be  swept  away. 
Then  these  two  kings  [Antiochus  and  Ptolemy]  shall  pro- 
fess friendship,  but  insincerely,  since  each  shall  be  plot- 
ting against  the  other.3     Their  plans  however  shall  not 
come  to  effect,  for  the  end  of  the  dealings  of  Antiochus 
with  Egypt — its  subjection  to  him,  predicted  in  verse  43 — 
shall  not  come  for  a  definite  period  longer.     Then  Anti- 
ochus shall  return  to  Syria,  and  shall  come  into  Palestine 
and  enter  and  plunder  the  temple.4 

After  a  time  he  shall  return  into  Egypt,  but  without  the 

1  It  is  especially  in  his  efforts  to  gain  control  of  Egypt  that  these  methods 
and  qualities  are  seen.  About  this  details  follow  (vv.  25  ff.  ;  cf.  1  Mac. 
1  :  16  ff.)- 

2  See  1  Mac.  1  :  17-19. 

3  Though  Antiochus  posed  as  defender  of  the  title  of  Ptolemy  Philometor, 
his  real  purpose  was  to  get  possession  of  Egypt  for  himself. 

4  See  1  Mac.  1  :  20-28  and  2  Mac.  5  :  11-21. 

l6l 


The  Messages  o]  the 

The  second  success  he  had  before  ;  for  his  plans  shall  be  frustrated  by 
expedition  tne  intervention  of  the  Romans.1  He  shall  therefore  re- 
seci'tionofr"^urn  to  n*s  own  kingdom,  and  shall  vent  his  anger  against 
the  jews  the  Jews,  listening  to  the  counsels  of  Jewish  apostates,  and 
using  them  for  his  own  ends. 2  With  an  armed  force  he  shall 
proceed  against  the  temple,  breaking  down  its  defences.  He 
shall  put  an  end  to  the  daily  burnt  offerings  and  shall  set 
up  on  the  altar  the  appalling  pollution  of  an  altar  to  Zeus.3 
He  shall  tempt  to  apostasy  those  who  are  ready  to  deny 
their  religion,  but  the  loyal  and  true  shall  be  steadfast  and 
strong.  Members  of  the  religious  party  shall  help  many 
of  the  people  to  religious  fidelity,4  though  severe  persecu- 
tions shall  reward  them  for  a  time.5  In  their  extremity 
the  pious  will  be  helped  a  little  [by  the  early,  less  decisive, 
victories  of  Judas  Maccabeus].6  But  many  shall  be  drawn 
into  this  patriotic  and  religious  movement  by  selfish  fear 
or  hope.  So  that  martyrdom  will  be  required  to  effect  the 
needed  purification  and  sifting.     This  persecution  should 

1  Immediately  after  the  fall  of  the  Macedonian  kingdom  at  their  hands,  the 
Romans  sent  Popilius  Lsenas  to  demand  Antiochus's  instant  withdrawal  from 
Egypt,  1 68  B.  C. 

2  Such  as  are  described  in  i  Mac.  i  :  n-15. 

3  See  1  Mac.  1  :  20-64;  2  Mac.  6  :  i-n. 

4  It  is  evident  that  the  party  to  which  our  writer  belonged  engaged  in  an 
aggressive  campaign  of  teaching  and  admonition  for  the  sake  of  holding  the 
people  to  fidelity  to  the  ancestral  religion.  The  nature  of  their  teaching  is 
revealed  in  part  by  our  book  itself.  The  teachers  were  often  martyrs,  but  they 
could  look  forward  to  a  place  of  peculiar  glory  in  the  world  to  come  C12  :  3). 

6  See  1  Mac.  1  :  57  ;  2  :  38  ;  3  :  41 ;  5  :  13.        6  See  1  Mac.  2  :  42-48. 

162 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

not,  therefore,  bring  despair,  for  it  is  a  needed  discipline, 
and  moreover  its  duration  is  fixed  by  divine  decree. 

Antiochus  will  show  himself  in  every  way  to  be  the  typi-  The  arro- 
cal  impious  king.     He  will  be  lifted  up  in  pride,  as  if  he  fmpkty'of 
were  above  the  very  gods,1  and  shall  speak  against  God  him-  ££!!?g)US 
self  ;  yet  he  shall  prosper,  but  only  for  the  appointed  time, 
after  which  judgment  will  come.     He  shall  not  even  hold 
to  his  ancestral  religion,  but  shall  pay  honors  to  foreign 
gods.2     He  shall  not  honor  Tammuz  (Adonis),  the  Syrian 
god,  over  whose  death  the  women  weep.3    He  shall  not 
truly  honor  any  god,  but  shall  set  himself  above  them  all. 
But  he  shall  give  special  official  recognition  to  the  god  of 
fortresses  [Jupiter  Capitolinus  ?],  erecting  to  him  a  splendid 
temple  in  Antioch,  and  dedicating  to  him  precious  gifts. 
He  shall  put  in  charge  of  his  fortresses  the  worshippers  of 
foreign  gods.4    He  shall  greatly  honor  and  reward  those 
who  flatter  him,  and  bribery  and  corruption  shall  prevail. 

The  end  of  the  reign  of  Antiochus  shall  be  as  follows  : 5 

1  Referring  to  the  title  he  assumed,  Theos  Epiphanes,  God  manifest,  and 
to  the  stress  he  put  on  the  emperor  cult  (see  p.  88  f.). 

1  On  his  coins  Zeus  displaces  Apollo,  who  stands  on  coins  of  his  predeces- 
sors. But  perhaps  such  a  policy  as  i  Mac.  i  :  41-42  describes  gave  the  im- 
pression that  he  had  no  respect  for  ancient  religions. 

3  See  Ezek.  8  :  14. 

4  Referring  to  the  foreign  soldiers  in  Palestinian  strongholds. 

5  Here  the  writer  passes  from  history  to  actual  prediction.  He  has  reached 
the  point  where  he  himself  stands.  Thus  far  his  account  of  Antiochus  an- 
swers to  what  we  know  from  other  sources,  especially  1  and  2  Mac.  and  Poly- 
bius.     What  follows  does  not  correspond  with  fact. 

163 


The  Messages  oj  the 

The  final      Ptolemy  shall  attack  him  and  be  overwhelmed  by  the  pow~ 

In°dofand      eT^  resistance  of  Antiochus,  who  shall  then  proceed  on  a 

Antiochus     career  of  conquest  greater  than  before.     He  shall  come 

again  into  Palestine,  bringing  destruction  upon  many,  and 

shall  subject  surrounding  peoples,  all  except  Edom  and 

Moab  and  Amnon.1     In  his  victorious  progress  Egypt  shall 

not  this  time  escape,  but  shall  fall  into  his  hands  together 

with  the  Libyans  and  the  Ethiopians.     But  tidings  from 

the  northeast  shall  lead  him  to  return  thither  in  great  rage.2 

But  while  he  is  encamping  between  Jerusalem  and   the 

Mediterranean,  he  shall  suddenly  die  with  none  to  help.3 

The  lot  of         Then  the  angel  Michael,  the  prince  of  Israel,  will  cham- 

jeWduring  pion  his  people  during  the  unexampled  hardships  they 

timesSt         must  still  meet.     These  trials  shall  indeed  be  greater  than 

(12:1)         any  other  people  was  ever  called  on  to  endure,  but  all  whom 

God  has  approved  shall  be  saved.4    Many  of  the  dead  also 

1  Edom  and  Moab  helped  Antiochus  against  the  Jews  (1  Mac.  4:61; 
5  :  1-8). 

2  Bevan  suggests  that  the  tidings  may  be  the  recovery  of  Jerusalem  and  the 
temple  by  the  Jews,  which  our  writer  expected  after  3^2  years. 

3  The  prophets  expected  that  God  would  smite  the  last  great  foe  of  Israel 
within  sight  of  Jerusalem  (Ezek.  39  :  4 ;  Joel  3:2,  12  f. ;  Zech.  14  :  2  ;  Isa. 
10  :  33  f.  •,  14  :  25  •  17  :  12-14  5  3°  :  27-33  \  31  •'  5-  8,  9).  On  the  actual  death 
of  Antiochus  see  p.  86. 

4  The  end  does  not  come  immediately  with  the  death  of  Antiochus.  There 
is  still  a  period  of  trial,  even  greater  than  before.  Perhaps  the  writer  thinks 
of  an  invasion  of  remote  and  dreadful  warriors  such  as  Ezekiel  predicted 
(chs.  38-39).  No  doubt  fuller  traditions  were  current  in  regard  both  to  this 
supreme  trouble  and  also  to  the  task  of  Michael  in  connection  with  it,  so  that 
these  brief  allusions  would  be  understood. 

164 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

shall  arise  to  receive  fitting  rewards  and  punishments  in  Theresur- 
the  Messianic  age,  life  for  some,  abhorrence  for  others.1  (ST) 

The  party  of  the  pious,  doers  and  teachers  of  the  law,  The  special 
who  bore  effectual  witness  to  the  truth  and  persuaded  the  teachers 
many  others  to  withstand  the  temptation  to  apostasy,  shall  {^2has\dim) 
be  rewarded  with  a  peculiar  and  unearthly  glory. 

Gabriel  then  charged  me  to  close  and  seal  the  book  re-  The  book 
cording  these  visions  until  the  predicted  end  should  draw  denli?:^)1" 
near.2   Then  many  shall  eagerly  read  the  book,  and  it  shall 
serve  that  end  of  instruction  to  which  the  teachers  shall 
devote  themselves.3 

Then  I  saw  two  other  angels  on  each  side  of  the  river.  Concluding 
One  of  them  asked  Gabriel  how  long  the  calamities  de-  byangekof 
scribed  would  last ;  and  he,  lifting  both  hands  to  heaven,  [jj^  JJ^of 
swore  that  it  would  be  for  three  and  a  half  vears  (as  in  a.nd  offthe 

\  •  time  of  the 

7  :  25).     When  the  persecution  of  the  Jews  is  complete,  end  (5-7) 
the  consummation  shall  come.4 

I  could  not  understand  this,  and  asked  again  about  the  Final  an- 
end.     But  the  angel  bade  me  ask  no  more  questions  since  Damsel's 
my  visions  concerned  a  remote  future,  and  could  not  be  gjlf^1)0118 
understood  until  the  time  approached.     When  that  time 

1  Such  as  Isa.  66  :  24  describes. 

2  The  beginnings  of  this  idea  are  to  be  seen  in  Isa.  8  :  26  ;  30  :  8.     In  the 
apocalypses  it  is  a  necessary  part  of  the  pseudonymous  form. 

3  The  meaning  may,  however,  be  that  the  interval  between  the  writing  and 
the  reading  of  the  book  shall  be  a  period  of  distraction  and  calamities. 

4  Or,  when  the  persecutor,   Antiochus,  dies,  the  sufferings  of  Israel  will 
cease. 

l65 


The  Messages  o]  the  Apocalyptical  Writers 

comes  men  shall  be  divided  according  to  their  character. 
The  trials  shall  only  perfect  the  good,  while  the  wicked 
shall  increase  in  wickedness,  not  knowing  the  divine  mean- 
ing of  these  events,  which  the  present  book  discloses,  and 
the  party  of  the  wise  shall  understand.  From  the  time 
when  Antiochus  shall  stop  the  daily  offerings  and  erect 
the  altar  to  Zeus  there  will  be  a  period  of  1290  days.  The 
full  consummation  will  follow  forty-five  days  later.1  But 
thou,  Daniel,  must  wait  in  thy  grave  to  rise  again  at  the 
end. 

1  Twelve  hundred  and  ninety  days  is  the  longest  possible  estimate  of  three 
years  and  a  half,  namely,  by  adding  an  intercalary  month,  forty-three  months 
of  thirty  days.  What  happens  after  that  interval  is  not  said,  nor  do  we 
know  what  the  special  blessedness  is  that  follows  a  month  and  a  half  later. 
Some  think  vv.  11-12  an  addition  to  the  original  book,  but  if  so  they  must 
have  been  added  very  early,  before  the  period  named  had  elapsed.  If  three 
years  and  a  half  had  passed  and  the  consummation  had  not  yet  come  a  reader 
of  the  book,  or  more  probably  the  writer  himself,  could  have  lengthened  out  the 
period  in  this  way. 


166 


THE   BOOK   OF   REVELATION 


THE   BOOK    OF   REVELATION 

I 

INTRODUCTION   TO    THE    BOOK   OF   REVELATION 

i.  The  Book  as  an  Apocalypse 
Does  the  New  Testament  apocalypse  belong  to  the  class  Is  the  book 

.  __  ,  j      t/  3-D.  3,poca.~ 

of  apocalyptical  literature  ?  The  Greek  word  apoca-  iypse  or  a 
lypse"  of  which  "revelation"  is  the  Latin  equivalent,  is  the  Pr°Phecy? 
first  word  of  our  book,  and  in  the  earliest  lists  and  manu- 
scripts it  is  called  "The  Apocalypse  of  John."  It  is  from 
this  use  that  the  word  became  the  current  Christian  title 
of  the  books  which  Jews  probably  called  either  apocrypha, 
or  visions.  The  use  of  the  new  title  is  itself  a  proof  that 
the  relationship  of  the  Christian  to  the  Jewish  books  was 
early  recognized.  The  writer,  however,  calls  himself  a 
prophet  (22  :  9)  and  his  book  a  prophecy  (1 :  3  ;  22  :  7,  10, 
18,  19).  Perhaps  his  own  title  would  have  been,  The 
Words  (or  Book)  of  the  Prophecy  of  John.  The  writer 
may  be  regarded  as  a  later  representative  of  the  class  of 
Christian  prophets  whom  Paul  puts  second  in  rank  only  to 
apostles  in  the  early  church  (1  Cor.  12  :  28  ;  14  : 1-40 ;  Eph. 
4  :  11  ;  2  :  20).     It  is  not  certain,  however,  from  Paul's  de- 

169 


The  Messages  o]  the 

scription,  that  these  prophets  spoke  only  of  the  mysteries 
of  the  future.  They  may  have  uttered  such  rhapsodies 
as  First  Corinthians  13  or  Romans  8  :  35-39,  no  less  than 
such  eschatological  disclosures  as  First  Corinthians  15,  or 
Second  Thessalonians  2  :  1-12. 
Close  rela-  Does  Revelation  then  belong  to  the  class  of  Jewish 
Jewish  apoc-  apocalypses,  or  is  it  a  wholly  new  creation  of  the  new  order 
alypses  0f  Christian  prophets?  A  little  reflection  will  make  it 
clear  that  the  book  is  certainly  an  apocalypse,  even  though 
there  is  something  new  in  it  that  may  be  ascribed  to  the 
new  Christian  spirit.  Like  Daniel,  the  Book  of  Revela- 
tion was  written  at  a  time  when  the  true  religion  of  the 
writer  and  his  circle  was  threatened  both  by  the  allure- 
ments and  by  the  violence  of  the  ruling  heathen  power. 
It  aims  to  establish  wavering  faith,  to  warn  apostates, 
and  especially  to  encourage  believers  to  resist  foreign  in- 
fluences and  to  endure  trial  even  to  death,  in  view  of  the 
speedy  coming  of  God  as  judge  and  saviour.  Like  Daniel, 
it  is  a  revelation  of  the  meaning  and  end  of  the  history  of 
the  world,  and  not  chiefly  of  the  destiny  of  souls  after 
death. 

Many  other  features  show  its  close  relationship  to  Jewish 
apocalypses.  Thus  our  book  uses  highly  wrought  and 
fantastic  imagery,  derived  in  large  part  from  the  Old  Tes- 
tament, but  also  from  various  apocalyptical  traditions  of 
more  or  less  foreign  origin,  more  or  less  freely  adapted 
to  the  present  purpose.     Again,   it  constantly  uses  the 

170 


2 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

vision  form  of  revelation,  with  angelic  interpreters.  It 
explains  the  origin  and  present  excess  of  evil  as  due  to 
angelic  powers  and  their  conflicts,  and  regards  the  Roman 
empire  as  embodying  the  chief  spirit  of  evil,  or  as  his  chief 
agent  in  the  world.  But  still  further  its  whole  outline  of 
the  future,  its  philosophy  of  history  and  its  eschatological 
doctrines,  are  in  the  closest  way  parallel  to  those  of  the 
Jewish  apocalypses.  To  be  sure,  the  identification  of  the 
Messiah  who  is  to  come  as  judge  with  Jesus  involves  some 
changes  in  the  Jewish  conception,  though  far  less  than 
one  would  expect.  It  is  true,  also,  that  the  seven  letters 
are  a  unique  feature  of  the  Christian  book,  distinguishing 
it  from  Jewish  apocalypses  and  revealing  a  different  spirit. 
But  these  differences  are  not  such  as  to  justify  us  in  sepa- 
rating it  from  the  class,  and  departing  from  the  principles 
of  interpretation  which  have  proved  correct  in  the  case 
of  Daniel  and  its  successors. 

It  is  therefore  to  be  assumed  that  the  predictions  of  the  Inferences 
book  relate  to  the  immediate  and  not  to  the  remote  future,  apoc-1  £ 
as  the  writer  most  explicitly  affirms  (i  :  i,  3;  22  :  10-12).  character 
We  should  expect  to  find  that  the  visions  of  the  book  have 
to  do  with  present  political  and  social  conditions,  with  the 
dangers  of  Christian  churches  due  to  their  actual  historical 
situation.     We  should  expect  to  find  the  value  of  the  book 
not  in  disclosures  of  the  course  of  church  history  during 
nineteen  following  centuries,  nor  in  forecasts  of  still  future 
events  and  of  the  end  of  the  world,  but  rather  historically 

171 


The  Messages  oj  the 

in  its  fitness  to  brace  Christian  faith  to  meet  one  of  the 
great  crises  in  its  history,  and  permanently  in  the  faith  that 
inspires  it  in  the  rule  of  God  and  the  certain  victory  of  his 
cause  and  the  safety  and  glory  of  faithfulness  to  him  even 
to  death. 

2.  Methods  of  Its  Interpretation 

Older  If  our  book  is  an  apocalypse,  we  must  unhesitatingly 

tenable S  n°  reject  most  of  the  methods  of  interpreting  it  that  have  been 
current  in  the  past.  We  can  no  longer  consider  the  ques- 
tion whether  the  beasts  of  chapters  13  and  17  refer  to 
Mohammed  and  the  Turks,  or  to  Luther  and  Protestant- 
ism, or  to  the  Pope  and  the  Romish  church.  Nor  can  we 
assent  to  any  of  the  views,  still  more  or  less  current,  ac- 
cording to  which  the  book  predicts  the  whole  course  of 
church  history  to  the  end  of  the  world,  either  literally 
reviewing  its  great  persons  and  events,  or  symbolically 
representing  the  conflicts  of  opposing  principles  from  the 
beginning  to  the  end.  Nor  can  we  accept  the  view  that  its 
predictions  refer  not  only  in  part  but  altogether  to  persons 
and  events  still  future.  Over  against  all  such  conceptions 
the  analogy  of  Daniel  and  the  Jewish  apocalypses,  the  ex- 
press language  of  the  book  itself,  and  in  general  the  his- 
torical spirit  of  our  own  time,  unite  in  compelling  us  to 
seek  for  the  meaning  of  the  imagery  of  the  book  primarily 
in  factors  present  in  the  writer's  age  and  place. 
The  first  decisive  and  secure  step  of  historical  criticism 

172 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

in  the  study  of  this  book  was  the  recognition  of  the  Roman  Rome  is  the 
empire  as  the  persecuting  and  godless  power  whose  allure-  p^WerS 
ments  are  to  be  resisted,  whose  violence  is  to  be  endured, 
whose  overthrow  is  to  be  the  first  work  of  the  coming  Christ. 
Isolated  scholars  in  far  older  times  knew  this,  but  it  was 
through  men  like  Liicke,  Bleek  and  Ewald  that  it  has  gained 
the  acceptance  of  most  modern  scholars.  The  persecution 
by  Nero  and  the  fear  of  his  return  from  the  dead  seems  to  be 
a  concrete  factor  in  the  book,  but  the  reign  of  Domitian, 
especially  the  enforcement  of  the  emperor  cult  in  the  prov- 
inces during  his  reign,  furnishes  its  immediate  background. 
In  the  light  of  this  and  of  the  special  conditions  of  the 
churches  of  Asia  Minor  we  are  to  read  the  book,  which 
was,  like  all  the  New  Testament  writings  and  even  in  a 
very  special  sense,  a  book  for  its  times. 

After  the  historical  situation,  the  most  important  thing  Use  of  Old 
for  the  interpreter  of  Revelation  to  take  account  of  is  theandfrae 
fact  that  the  materials  of  its  visions  are  largely  drawn  from  materials 
the    Old   Testament   and    from    apocalyptical    traditions 
already  current.     These  traditions  would  naturally  come 
from  some  earlier  crisis  in  the  history  of  the  Christian  or 
the  Jewish  church  ;  and  the  use  of  such  material  would 
naturally  lead  to  just  such  occasional  indications  of  an 
earlier  date,  or  such  varieties  of  view,  as  our  further  study 
of  the  book  will  disclose.1     We  shall  often  have  two  ques- 

1  For  example  1 1  :  1-2  points  to  a  date  before  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem, 
while  17  :  10-11  requires  us  to  come  down  to  Domitian.      In  7  :  1-8  we  seem 

173 


The  Messages  oj  the 


The  ques- 
tion of  its 
unity 


The  ques- 
tion of 
progress 


tions  to  answer  about  a  given  visionary  figure — its  original 
meaning,  and  its  application  by  the  present  writer ;  and 
the  question  of  the  original  meaning  may  divide  itself  still 
further  into  a  study  of  nearer  and  more  remote  origins. 

3.  Its  Composition  and  Plan 

The  Book  of  Revelation  has  been  by  many  praised  for  its 
artistic  structure,  while  many  on  the  other  hand  have  de- 
nied not  only  its  art,  but  even  its  unity,  and  have  main- 
tained that  the  seams  and  breaks  in  its  construction,  and 
the  diversity  of  different  parts  in  the  historical  situation 
they  presuppose  and  the  type  of  Christianity  they  repre- 
sent, can  be  explained  only  by  the  supposition  that  the 
book  had  at  least  two  authors  and  perhaps  several  more. 

It  is  evident  that  in  general  the  book  presents  a  progress- 
ive movement  from  the  treatment  of  present  actual  con- 
ditions in  certain  churches  of  Asia  Minor,  through  ap- 
proaching catastrophes  embracing  all  regions  and  peoples 
of  the  earth  and  the  earth  itself  in  their  scope,  on  to  the 
final  overthrow  of  the  powers  of  evil  and  the  consummate 
blessedness  of  the  faithful  in  a  new  heaven  and  earth.  Yet 
the  movement  is  by  no  means  straight  forward  from  be- 
ginning to  end.  The  structure  of  Daniel  and  other  apoca- 
lypses would  not,  indeed,  lead  us  to  expect  a  chronological 

to  meet  with  a  narrow  Jewish  Christianity,  while  7  : 9-17  is  as  universal  as 
Paul.  A  Jewish  Messiah  warrior  is  pictured  in  19  :  n  ff.,  but  a  divine  being 
meets  us  elsewhere. 

174 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

sequence.  In  Daniel  the  successive  visions  do  not  move 
forward  in  time,  but  advance  rather  in  the  clearness  and 
detail  with  which  they  indicate  the  identity  of  the  power 
of  evil  with  the  Greek  empire  and  Antiochus  Epiphanes, 
the  time  and  manner  of  their  overthrow,  and  the  experiences 
and  rewards  of  the  people  of  God.  So  in  Revelation  it  is 
not  until  chapters  13  and  17  that  we  have  clear  indica- 
tions that  the  ruling  power  of  evil  is  Rome,  and  perhaps 
hints  of  Nero  as  its  personal  embodiment  ;  and  it  is  not 
until  chapter  20  that  the  consummation  divides  into  two 
stages.  Of  the  fall  of  Rome  and  the  reward  of  the  saints  The  habit 
many  anticipatory  descriptions  are  inserted.  In  6  :  12-17  Son11 1C'Pa" 
we  have  nothing  less  than  the  final  day  of  God's  judg- 
ment. It  is  described  again  in  14 :  14-20.  Yet  its  proper 
place  appears  to  be  in  chapters  19  and  20.  In  7  :  9-17  we 
already  read  of  the  final  blessedness  of  the  faithful.  So 
in  11  :  15-18  and  15  :  2-4  the  establishment  of  God's  king- 
dom is  announced.  Yet  only  in  chapters  21-22  does  the 
consummation  appear  to  be  reached.  The  fall  of  Rome 
appears  to  have  been  already  accomplished  in  14 :  8  ;  it 
is  more  fully  described  in  16:  17-21  ;  still  predicted  in 
17:  16;  announced  as  if  an  accomplished  fact  in  18:  2, 
and  predicted  still  more  elaborately  in  18  :  4-24  ;  again  an- 
nounced in  19  :  2-3,  but  perhaps  not  finally  effected  until 
19:11-21.  Yet  the  inference  which  many  interpreters 
from  Augustine  on  have  drawn  that  the  method  of  the 
writer  is  one  of  recapitulation  does  not  seem  to  do  justice 

175 


The  Messages  of  the 

to  the  general  indications  of  progress  from  the  beginning 
to  the  end  of  the  book.  It  seems  therefore  more  probable 
that  anticipatory  hints  and  summary  statements  charac- 
terize the  writer's  method.  These  could  be  explained  as 
due  to  his  practical  aim,  his  desire  to  warn  and  also  to 
encourage.  This  would  lead  him  not  to  put  off  to  the  end 
of  the  book  that  by  which  the  tempted  and  wavering  faith 
of  Christians  was  to  be  strengthened,  the  assurance  that  the 
fall  of  Rome  and  the  glorious  reward  of  those  who  were 
faithful  even  unto  death  was  near  at  hand.  This  is  the 
one  message  of  the  book  from  the  beginning,  announced 
in  the  opening  verses,  and  enforced  in  the  letters,  whose 
promises  to  those  who  overcome  contain  all  the  main  feat- 
ures of  chapters  21-22,  and  formally  connect  the  begin- 
ning of  the  book  with  the  end. 

The  plan  in  Turning  now  to  details,  it  is  not  easy  to  say  just  how  far 
we  may  ascribe  to  the  author  an  elaborate  plan  by  which 

The  plan  of  this  general  impression  is  produced.  According  to  the 
ruling  view  the  predictions  of  chapters  4-22  are  made  up 
of  three  series  of  seven  judicial  acts.  These  do  not  simply 
repeat  one  another  in  new  form,  but  the  seventh  of  each 
series  is  unfolded  in  a  new  series.  We  have  first  seven  seals, 
then  seven  trumpets  which  develop  the  contents  or  signifi- 
cance of  the  seventh  seal,  then  seven  bowls  which  elaborate 
the  seventh  trumpet.  In  the  case  of  the  seals  and  the 
trumpets  the  first  four  are  distinct  in  character  from  the 
remaining  three,  and  the  seventh  is  separated  from  the 

176 


successive 
sevens 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

sixth  by  two  interrupting  episodes  (7  :  1-8,  9-17  ;  10,11 :  1- 
13).  The  seven  bowls  are  preceded  by  the  introduction 
of  the  three  great  enemies  of  God,  the  dragon  and  the  two 
beasts  (12-13),  an^  an  anticipation  of  their  overthrow  (14), 
and  followed  by  a  fuller  description  of  the  fall  and  punish- 
ment of  the  beasts  and  finally  of  the  dragon  (17-20).  Then 
comes  the  consummation  (21-22).  This  idea  of  the  plan  of 
the  book  may  be  represented  by  the  following  scheme  from 
Holtzmann :  x 

1  : 1-8,  Introduction. 
1 : 0-3  :  22,  The  seven  letters. 


4  : 1-5  :  14,  Heavenly  scene  of  the 

visions. 
6  :  1-17,  Six  seals. 

8  : 1-5,  The  trumpets  coming  forth 

out  of  the  seventh  seal. 
8  : 6-9  :  21,  Six  trumpets. 


11 :  15-19,  Seventh  trumpet. 


7  : 1-17,  The  sealed  and  the  Blessed. 


10  :  1- 1 1  :  14,    Fortunes   of  Jeru- 
salem. 


12  :  1- 14  :  5,  The  great  visions  of  the 
three  chief  foes  and  the  Messiah- 
Kingdom. 
14  :  6-20,  Return  to  the  earlier  context. 

15  :  1-16  :  1,  Transition  to  the 
bowls. 

16  :  2-2 1,  Seven  bowls. 

17  : 1 -19  :  10,  The  great  Babylon. 
19  :  11-20  :  15,  Final  catastrophes. 

21  :  1-22  :  s,  The  new  Jerusalem. 
22:6-21,  Conclusion. 

1  Commentar ,  p.  295. 

177 


The  Messages  oj  the 

Objections  The  objection  to  this  theory  of  the  writer's  plan  is  that 
is  p  an  ^e  passages  which  stand  in  the  way  of  it,  those  in  the  right- 
hand  column,  are  too  important  to  be  regarded  as  mere 
interrupting  interludes,  and  a  plan  which  has  no  proper 
place  for  them  can  hardly  have  been  in  the  author's  mind. 
The  fullest  and  most  significant  predictions  of  the  book 
stand  in  no  relation  at  all,  or  only  in  the  loosest  relation, 
to  the  series  of  sevens.  Certainly  from  chapter  10  to  the 
end  the  scheme  of  sevens  is  largely  abandoned,1  and  the 
seven  bowls,  which  are  the  least  original  and  impressive 
part  of  this  section,  being  dependent  on  the  seven  trumpets 
and  inferior  to  them  in  force,  appear  rather  like  an  inser- 
tion in  this  part  of  the  book  than  its  chief  contents. 

If,  as  is  commonly  affirmed,  the  seventh  seal  is  developed 
in  seven  trumpets,  and  the  seventh  trumpet  in  the  seven 
bowls  and  what  introduces  and  follows  them,  then  the  con- 
tent of  the  seventh  seal  and  trumpet  is  in  each  case  all 
that  follows  to  the  end  of  the  book,  and  we  should  begin  a 
new  division  with  the  end  of  the  sixth,  not  with  the  an- 
nouncement of  the  seventh.  In  that  case  chapters  7  and 
10  need  not  be  regarded  as  mere  insertions,  but  mdy  be 
taken  as  the  proper  introductions  of  new  stages  in  the 
progress  of  the  drama.  The  seven  seals  are  not  ended  in 
8:1,  but  when  the  seventh  seal  is  removed,  the  book  is 
opened  of  which  the  remainder  of  our  prophecy  must  de- 

1  This  may  be  the  meaning  of  the  reference  to  the  seven  thunders  which  the 
seer  heard,  but  was  forbidden  to  write  (10  :  4). 

178 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

scribe  the  contents.  So  also  n  :  15-19  does  not  complete 
an  apocalypse  of  seven  trumpets,  but  introduces  the  sev- 
enth, which  contains,  as  is  distinctly  said  (10 :  7),  all  that 
follows.  Even  the  seventh  bowl,  though  not  formally  sepa- 
rated from  the  sixth,  contains  not  simply  16:  17-21,  but 
also  the  following  chapters,  which  describe  in  fuller  detail 
its  theme — the  fall  of  Babylon-Rome.1 

I  suggest,  therefore,  the  following  as  approximately  the  Another 

'.     j       1    _  view  of  the 

writer's  plan  :  author's 

plan 
Superscription,  1  :  1-3. 

I.  The  Messages  of  Christ  to  his  Churches,  1  :  4-3  :  22. 

1.  Introduction  : 
Salutation,  1  :  4-6. 
Theme,  1:7. 
Attestation,  1  :  8. 

2.  The  Prophet's  call,  1  :  9-20. 

3.  The  seven  messages,  2-3. 

II.  Visions  of  the  Future,  4-22. 

A.  Introduction  : 

1.  Vision  of  God,  by  whom  all  is  done,  4. 

2.  Vision  of  Christ,  by  whom  all  is  known  and  revealed,  5. 

B.  First  Stages  of  the  Coming  Judgment,  6-9. 

1.  Destructive  powers  seen  at  the  opening  of  six  seals,  6. 

2.  Salvation  of  the  faithful,  7. 

a.  The  safety  of  the  saints,  7  :  1-8. 

b.  Final  blessedness  of  martyrs,  7  :  9-17. 

3.  Preliminary  judgments  ;  destroying  one-third  of  earth  and 

mankind  at  the  sounding  of  gix  trumpets,  8-9. 

1  See  17  : 1 ;  21  :g. 
179 


The  Messages  of  the 

C.  Last  Stages  of  the  Judgment,  10-20. 

(I)  Introduction  : 

1.  The  Prophet's  new  commission,  10. 

2.  New  assurances,  in  old  figures   of  the  safety  of  saints  and 

martyrs,  11  :  1-13. 

a.  Safety  of  the  true  worshippers,  n  :  1-2. 

b.  Work  and  reward  of  martyrs,  n  :  3-13. 

(II)  The  Overthrow  of  Rome  and  Satan,  11  :  14-20  :  15. 

1.  Introduction :     Heavenly    song,    anticipating    God's    vic- 

tory, 11  :  14-19. 

2.  The  powers  of  evil. 

a.  Satan,  12. 

b.  Rome  and  the  imperial  cultus,  13. 

3.  The  opposing  host,  Christ  and  the  undented,  14  :  1-5. 

4.  Last  warnings  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come,  14  :  6-20. 

5.  The  Judgments,  15-20. 

a.  Vision  of  the  wrath  of  God,  in  seven  bowls,  15-16. 

b.  Fall  of  Rome  described  in  a  figure,  17. 

c.  Fall  of  Rome  in  prophecy,  18. 

d.  Fall  of  Rome  in  heavenly  song,  19  :  1-10. 

e.  Fall  of  Rome  as  the  victory  of  Christ  in  warfare  with  the 
beasts,  19  :  11-21. 

/.  The  fall  of  Satan,  20  :  1-10. 

g.  General  resurrection  and  Judgment,  20  :  11-15. 

D.  The  Blessed  Consummation. 

1.  The  coming  of  God  to  dwell  with  men,  21  :  1-8. 

2.  The  descent  of  the  heavenly  Jerusalem,  21  :  9-22  :  9. 
Concluding  warnings  and  promises,  22  :  10-21. 

This  outline  assumes  that  the  book  had  a  proper  author 
in  its  present  form  and  a  real  unity,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that 

180 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

it  incorporates  much  material  that  may  have  received  Varying 
almost  its  present  form  from  earlier  hands.     This  con-  ^ecom-  ° 
ception  of  the  composition  of  the  book,  which  we  here  f^e  book°f 
assume  to  be  the  true  one,  was  first  put  forth  by  Weiz- 
sacker  in  1882.     He  regarded  chapters  7  :  1-8;  7  :  9-17; 
11  :  1-13  ;    12  :  1-11,  12-17;   I3>  and   17,  as   such  older 
oracles,  perhaps  in  part  Jewish,  which  our  author  incor- 
porated in  his  book. 

On  the  other  hand,  some  scholars  have  supposed  that 
entire  apocalypses  lie  behind  our  book,  that  it  has  no 
proper  unity,  and  that  its  final  editor  was  in  no  sense  its 
author.  Vischer,  in  1886,  proposed  the  view  that  the 
book  is  a  Jewish  apocalypse  (4  : 1-22  :  5),  set  in  a  Christian 
framework  (1-3;  22  :  6-21),  and  slightly  edited  by  the 
addition  of  occasional  Christian  sentences.  More  elabo- 
rate analyses  followed.  Spitta  found  a  primitive  Christian 
apocalypse  by  John  Mark,  to  which  a  later  Christian  added 
two  Jewish  apocalypses,  one  from  Caligula's  time,  and  one 
from  Pompey's.  The  last  analysis  of  this  sort,  by  J.  Weiss, 
is  somewhat  like  Spitta's. 

In  general  it  may  be  said  that  there  are  no  such  con-  Conclusions 
elusive  grounds  for  analysis  here  as  in  the  Book  of  Enoch, 
and  yet  it  is  important  to  recognize  that  the  writer  uses 
materials  that  were  shaped  for  earlier  and  different  situa- 
tions than  his  own.  It  is  probable  that  much  came  origi- 
nally from  Palestine,  and  was  written  in  Hebrew,  and  it  is 
also  probable  that  some  of  it  was  written  by  Jews.    Chris- 

181 


The  Messages  oj  the 

tians  adopted  into  their  Old  Testament  canons  for  a  time 
some  purely  Jewish  apocalypses,  and  it  was  easy  for  them, 
regarding  the  Christian  church  as  the  true  Israel,  to  use 
Jewish  language  as  the  poetic  and  sometimes  even  as  the 
literal  expression  of  Christian  beliefs  and  hopes. 

4.  The  Author 

The  apostle  The  writer  calls  himself  John  (1  :  1,  4,  9;  22  :  8),  and 
byte/john?  declares  that  he  saw  his  visions  on  the  Island  of  Patmos 
where  he  was  "on  account  of  the  word  of  God  and  on  ac- 
count of  the  testimony  of  Jesus,"  that  is,  as  usually  under- 
stood, on  account  of  persecution  or  banishment.  Justin 
Martyr  is  the  first  to  identify  this  John  with  the  apostle. 
So  also  do  Irenaeus  and  Tertullian.  Dionysius  of  Alexan- 
dria (about  255  A.  D.)  is  the  first  to  argue,  on  the  basis 
of  a  comparison  with  the  Fourth  Gospel,  that  the  author 
of  Revelation  was  another  John;  and  Eusebius  suggests 
the  Presbyter  John,  of  whom  Papias  speaks.  The  earliest 
opponents  of  the  canonicity  of  the  book,  the  Alogi,  as- 
signed it  to  the  Gnostic,  Cerinthus,  an  idea  adopted  by 
the  Roman  presbyter  Caius,  about  210  A.  D.,  against 
whom  Hippolytus  wrote.  The  author  himself  nowhere 
claims  to  be  an  apostle  (21  :  14  ;  18  :  20),  and  nowhere 
reveals  any  personal  knowledge  of  the  earthly  Jesus. 
It  is  usually  said  that  he  does  assume  the  position  of 
the  unquestioned  official  head  or  bishop  of  the  churches 

182 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

of  Asia.  But,  in  the  first  place,  it  is  not  certain  that  the 
Apostle  John  was  the  head  of  the  churches  of  Asia  Minor ;  * 
and  in  the  second  place  it  is  not  clear  that  the  author  of 
Revelation  assumes  this  office.  He  is  a  brother  and  fel- 
low in  trial  of  those  to  whom  he  writes  (1:9);  and  the  one 
who  speaks  with  authority  in  the  letters  is  Christ,  of  whom 
the  writer  claims  only  to  be  a  true  prophet,  to  report  truly 
what  he  has  seen  and  heard.  Like  other  apocalyptical 
writers  he  makes  great  claims  for  his  book  rather  than 
for  himself. 

Is  it  true,  then,  that  unlike  other  apocalyptical  writers  Could  the 
he  gives  his  own  name?  Our  book  is  certainly  distin-  pseudony- 
guished  from  Jewish  apocalypses  by  the  fact  that  it  is  not  mous? 
written  in  the  person  of  an  ancient  patriarch  or  prophet, 
and  does  not  survey  long  stretches  of  past  history  in  the 
form  of  vision.  Yet  it  does  not  necessarily  follow  that  it 
is  not,  like  them,  pseudonymous.  Christians  did  not  need, 
like  Jews,  to  go  far  back  in  order  to  find  prophetic  names. 
They  possessed  new  prophets  of  their  own.  If  we  could 
hear  the  prophets  speak  whom  Paul  describes  and  praises 
we  should  be  able  to  say  whether  Revelation  is  a  direct  or 
a  secondary  product  of  that  new  inspiration.  Our  im- 
pression is  that  it  is  secondary.  It  is  apocalyptical,  and 
Paul's  description  of  the  Christian  prophets  does  not  lead 
us  to  suppose  that  the  first  prophecy  was  of  that  type. 
And  being  apocalyptical  we  should  not  be  surprised  to  find 

1  See  B.  W.  Bacon,  in  Hibbert  Journal,  Jan.,  1904. 

183 


The  Messages  oj  the 

that  Revelation  was  pseudonymous.  The  apocalypse  of 
Peter  was  certainly  so,  though  it  was  widely  accepted  as 
genuine.  In  Second  Esdras  1-2  a  Christian  falls  back  on 
the  name  of  the  famous  Jewish  scribe  ;  and  in  the  Sibyl- 
line oracles  there  are  Christian  pseudepigraphs. 
Opposing  On  the  other  hand  the  Book  of  Revelation  does  not  con- 
tions  tain  the  familiar  marks  of  pseudonymous  writing.     If  it 

were  put  forth  in  the  name  of  the  apostle  we  should  expect 
some  allusions  to  the  known  events  of  his  life.  But  our 
writer  gives  no  intimation  that  he  had  known  Jesus,  and 
his  picture  of  Messiah  is  taken  from  Jewish  sources  rather 
than  from  the  personality  known  to  us  in  the  Gospels. 
Not  the  Our  author  is  certainly  not  the  writer  of  the  Fourth 

Fourth°Gose  Gospel.     The  difference  in  style  and  in  type  of  religion 
pel  remains  too  great,  after  all  that  has  been  said  of  minor 

points  of  contact  between  the  two  books. 
Hebraistic  Revelation  is  so  entirely  Hebraistic  that  we  may  assume 
Paksdnkn5  that  its  author  was  a  Jew  and  probably  a  Palestinian,  and 
the  possibility  remains  open  that  the  work  of  some  John 
of  Palestine  has  been  adapted  to  a  new  region  and  a  new 
crisis  by  a  writer  of  Asia  Minor. 

In  the  present  uncertain  state  of  inquiry  it  is  chiefly 
important  to  remain  undogmatic  and  to  remember  that 
the  meaning  and  value  of  the  book  to  us  do  not  depend 
on  our  view  of  its  authorship. 


184 


Apocalyptical  Writers 


5.  The  Historical  Situation  and  Date 

The  historical  background  of  the  book  is  the  Roman  The  wor- 
empire  and  especially  the  worship  of  the  emperors  and  its  Romal/em- 
enforcement  in  Asia  Minor.  This  was  a  natural  continua-  ^voxs 
tion  of  the  earlier  worship  of  Alexander  and  his  successors, 
the  Greek  kings  of  Syria  and  Egypt.  It  was  introduced 
for  the  same  purpose  that  it  then  served,  that  of  unifying  the 
diverse  elements  in  the  empire.  Augustus  declined  it  in 
Rome,  but  encouraged  it  in  the  provinces,  and  especially 
in  the  East  where  it  was  already  familiar.  The  enthusiastic 
temper  with  which  it  was  generally  welcomed  is  evident 
from  the  extravagant  language  applied  to  Augustus  in 
connection  with  the  introduction  of  the  Julian  calendar 
in  the  Asian  province.  He  always  joined  with  it  the  wor- 
ship of  the  goddess  Rome.  It  was  not  meant  to  displace 
the  native  religions  but  to  have  recognition  by  their  side, 
in  a  more  or  less  close  relation  to  them.  It  was  valued  by 
the  emperors  as  an  effective  means  of  Romanizing  the 
empire,  and  hence  was  furthered  especially  where  Roman 
culture  did  not  prevail,  and  in  the  Orient  where  it  would 
cause  least  offence.  It  was  in  fact  offensive  only  to  mon- 
otheistic faiths,  Judaism  and  Christianity,  which  could 
not  worship  God  and  Caesar.  Jews  and  Christians,  in 
refusing  it,  would  bring  upon  themselves  suspicion  and 
contempt.  In  general  Jews  fared  better  than  Christians 
during  this  period.      The  Jews  had  gained  concessions, 

18s 


The  Messages  oj  the 
Jewish         because  of  their  long  persistent  refusal  to  take  part  in 

privileges       . 

idolatrous  practices  under  whatever  pressure,  and  these 
privileges  which  Caesar  had  granted  and  Augustus  con- 
firmed were  seldom  violated  by  the  authorities.  Caligula 
did  indeed  atiempt  to  enforce  the  imperial  cult,  and  tried 
to  have  his  statue  erected  in  the  temple.  It  is  quite  pos- 
sible that  Revelation  13  came  originally  from  a  Jew  of 
Palestine  during  this  crisis.  The  Jews  of  Alexandria  also 
suffered  during  Caligula's  reign.  But  Claudius  restored 
their  ancient  rights  and  exemptions.  Christians,  however, 
did  not  necessarily  inherit  these  privileges. 
Special  de-  There  were  temples  of  Caesar  in  Palestine  (Samaria, 
of  the  cult  in  Panias,  Caesarea),  but  it  was  in  Asia  Minor  that  the  em- 
ia  nor  peror  cult  was  most  developed,  and  Pergamum  seems  to 
have  been  its  centre,  though  Ephesus  had  a  temple  to  Rome 
and  Augustus  during  that  emperor's  reign.  It  does  not  ap- 
pear, however,  that  this  worship  was  enforced  by  law  before 
the  reign  of  Domitian.  Paul's  life  and  letters  lead  us  to  the 
confident  inference  that  the  cult  was  not  forced  upon  the 
Christians  of  Asia  in  his  time.  First  Peter  knows  of  per- 
secutions of  Christians  in  this  region,  but  not  by  the  Ro- 
man government  and  not  for  refusal  to  take  part  in  the  offi- 
cial religion.  Both  Paul  (Rom.  13  :  1-5)  and  First  Peter 
(2:  13-17)  urge  submission  to  Roman  rule,  which  there- 
fore could  not  have  demanded  idolatry.  The  Jews  and  the 
populace  hated  and  misused  Christians,  but  Rome  rather 
restrained  than  supported  this  hatred  (2  Thes.  2  : 6-7). 

186 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

The  situation  reflected  in  Revelation  is  very  different  especially 
from  this,  and  evidently  later.     The  reign  of  Domitian  is  Domitian 
indicated  by  this  general  situation.     It  is  true  that  we 
know  of  no  edict  from  this  emperor  enforcing  the  imperial 
cult  ;  but  it  appears  that  under  him,  and  presumably  with 
his  approval,  the  priests  of  the  cult  and  the  governors  of 
the  provinces  were  especially  zealous  in  enforcing  it.     We 
do  not  know  how  far  compulsion  had  gone  when  Revela- 
tion was  written.     It  may  be,  as  J.  Weiss  thinks,  that  there 
had  been  already  only  a  few  martyrdoms,  but  that  the 
seer  had  reason  to  expect  in  the  immediate  future  a  forc- 
ible and  even  fanatical  insistence  upon  emperor  worship, 
which  would  involve  a  general  persecution  of  Christians, 
with  the  apostasy  of  many  and  the  martyrdom   of  the 
great  body  of  the  faithful.     Something,  perhaps  a  rumor 
of  an  imperial  decree,  or  the  knowledge  of  plots  among 
the  local  officials  or  the  populace,  made  the  writer  certain 
that   such   measures   as   Revelation    13:11-17   described 
would  be  enforced.     There  is  evidence  in  fact  that  under 
Domitian  the  extension   of  emperor  worship  became  a 
persecuting  and  oppressive  policy.     Under  Domitian  and 
Trajan  Rome  first  set  itself  definitely  the  task  of  stamping 
out  Christianity.     The  Book  of  Revelation  has  therefore  Revelation 
the  unique  significance  of  marking  the  transition  from  the  beginning 
earlier  tolerant  attitude   of  Rome  to  its  later  hostile  at-  between"* 
titude.     It  is  the  first  expression  of  Christian  faith  as  it  Christianity 
asserted  itself  and  took  its  stand  over  against  the  world 

181 


The  Messages  oj  the 

power  when  this  became  its  outspoken  enemy  through 
insistence  upon  an  idolatrous  worship.  The  end  of  the 
warfare  thus  opened  was  not  what  the  book  expects,  the 
fall  of  Rome  and  the  enthronement  of  Christ  and  his 
martyr  saints  in  its  place.  It  was  an  end  that  would  have 
been  inconceivable  at  the  outset,  the  Christianization  of 
Rome  itself.  In  the  situation  described  we  have  the  ex- 
planation and  justification  of  the  apocalyptical  form  of 
our  book.  Here  just  as  in  the  crisis  that  called  forth  the 
Book  of  Daniel,  the  power  of  the  ruling  state  was  applied 
to  compel  men  to  renounce  faith  in  God.  A  religious 
test  was  made  the  test  of  loyal  citizenship.  Christian 
faith  could  then  take  no  form  but  that  of  the  renunciation 
of  the  right  of  Roman  rule,  and  could  sustain  itself  only 
by  the  expectation  of  the  speedy  fall  of  that  rule  at  the 
hand  of  God.  Only  this  could  warn  and  recover  apostates 
and  give  courage  to  the  faithful  to  endure  even  death 
itself. 
Confirma-  The  date  which  the  historical  situation  requires — not 
under* Do^6  De^ore  tne  reign  of  Domitian — is  confirmed  by  other  in- 
mitian  dications.      The  notes  on  chapter  17  will  show  that  in  his 

reign  this  chapter  received  its  present  form.  The  eighth 
king  of  17:  11  can  scarcely  be  any  other.  Harnack  re- 
gards this  as  one  of  the  most  definite  dates  in  the  New 
Testament  literature  because  it  is  so  evidently  added  to 
verse  10,  written  under  Vespasian  (69-79  A.  D.),  to  fit  the 
vision  to  a  later  period.     It  effectually  excludes  the  infer- 

188 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

ence  that  would  naturally  be  made  from  verse  10  that  the 
book  as  a  whole  comes  from  the  earlier  reign. 

A  less  conclusive  result  is  reached  by  the  use  made  in  Legend  of 
our  book  of  the  figure  of  Nero.  After  the  death  of  this  ^Nero™ 
last  and  worst  of  the  line  of  Augustus  the  rumor  arose  that 
he  was  not  dead  but  had  fled  to  the  Parthians,  the  great 
eastern  enemies  of  Rome,  and  would  return  with  their 
support  against  the  empire.  Among  Christians  this  re- 
turn of  their  persecutor  became  an  interpretation  of  the 
expected  Antichrist,  and  it  was  affirmed  that  he  would 
reign  over  the  East  with  his  throne  in  Jerusalem.  As 
time  passed  the  idea  that  Nero  was  still  alive  changed  into 
the  belief  that  he  would  return  from  the  grave,  and  his 
figure  took  on  more  superhuman,  demoniacal,  features.  It 
may  with  plausibility  be  maintained  that  it  is  in  this  form, 
which  belongs  to  the  close  of  the  first  century,  that  the 
legend  is  alluded  to  in  Revelation  13  :  3  ;  17  :  8  ff.  This 
would  be  a  decisive  point  if  we  could  be  sure  that  17:11 
identifies  Domitian  with  the  returning  Nero.  This  is 
possible  but  not  certain. 

We  naturally  look  with  special  interest  to  the  seven  The  time  of 
letters,  the  most  original  and  distinctive  part  of  the  book,  letters 
and  most  definite  in  their  references  to  concrete  conditions. 
But  we  find  here  no  allusion  to  historical  events,  and  can 
only  say  that  Christianity  had  had  a  somewhat  long  his- 
tory in  these  churches.  There  was  a  relaxation  of  earlier 
zeal,  a  loss  of  love,  a  tendency  to  admit  heathen  ways  of 

189 


The  Messages  oj  the 

living  and  thinking.     All  this  points  to  a  later  rather  than 
an  earlier  period.     Paul's  position  as  founder  of  the  church 
in  Ephesus,  also,  appears  to  be  wholly  a  thing  of  the  past. 
An  argu-  Harnack  now  follows  Reinach  in  fixing  upon  93  A.  D.  as 

year  q™  *  the  exact  year  of  the  final  redaction  of  our  book.1  In  6  :  6 
the  angel  of  famine  is  told  to  make  grain  scarce  but  leave  oil 
and  wine  abundant.  Men  will  lack  necessary  food,  while 
they  possess  what  tends  to  luxury  and  immorality.  This 
strange  forecast  suggests  some  peculiar  situation.  Now  in 
92  A.  D.,  Domitian  prohibited  the  cultivation  of  the  vine 
in  the  provinces,  nominally  to  encourage  the  culture  of  grain 
and  restrain  drunkenness,  really  to  protect  the  vineyards  of 
Italy.  A  year  later  he  revoked  this  edict,  and  the  writer 
of  Revelation  saw  in  this  the  danger  of  a  dearth  of  grain 
and  a  superfluity  of  wine.  He  adds  oil  perhaps  as  another 
article  of  luxury  which  could  not  by  itself  serve  for  food. 
Conclusion  The  date  which  Irenaeus  assigned,  "near  the  end  of  the 
reign  of  Domitian,"  that  is,  about,  if  not  exactly,  93  A.  D., 
remains  the  probable  one  for  the  book  as  it  stands.2 

6.   The  Canonicity  oj  the  Book 

Disputes  be-      The  place  of  the  Book  of  Revelation  in  the  New  Testa- 

and  West      ment  was  long  disputed.     Its  claims  are  great  (1  :  1-3  ; 

22  :  16,  18-19),  and  it  was  probably  treasured  as  the  most 

sacred  of  books  by  those  who  first  received  it.     But  it  did 

not  hold  its  place  in  the  East,  and  its  reception  into  the 

1  Theol.  Liter alurzeitung,  1902,  p.  591  f.         2  See  further  pp.  229  f.,  261  f. 

I90 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

canon  was  secured  only  by  the  advocacy  of  the  Western 
church.  The  Greek  mind  naturally  favored  a  more  ethical 
and  rational  type  of  Christianity,  and  always  opposed  the 
millenarian  ideas  that  appealed  to  this  book  for  support. 
Eusebius  records  the  objections  to  it,  and  seems  to  sympa- 
thize with  them  ;  and  the  book  was  not  found  in  the  origi- 
nal Syriac  New  Testament.  But  the  Western  church  ac- 
cepted it  after  an  elaborate  defence  by  Hippolytus,  about 
215  A.  D.,  and  the  Eastern  church  finally  yielded  to  the 
West. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  Reformation  these  questions 
arose  again,  and  an  effort  was  made  to  put  Revelation  in 
a  class  of  deutero-canonical  books.  Luther  himself  was  at 
first  averse  to  the  book  because  of  its  extravagant  claims, 
its  obscurity,  and  the  absence  of  the  Pauline  gospel  in  it ; 
but  he  afterward  recognized  its  value  as  expressing  the 
faith  that,  however  great  the  powers  of  evil  may  be,  Christ 
is  near  and  the  victory  of  his  cause  certain. 

The  history  of  its  place  in  the  canon  suggests  that  it  has  Inference  as 
been  valued  by  the  church,  not  for  its  extravagant  claims,  value 
nor  for  its  visionary  form  and  the  air  of  mystery  that  sur- 
rounds it,  but  for  its  power  to  sustain  Christian  faith  and 
hope  amid  trial  and  apparent  defeat.  Christian  faith  has 
always  been  able  to  take  the  language  of  the  book  in  a 
poetic  sense  and  find  in  it  an  expressive  elaboration  of 
the  beatitude,  "Blessed  are  ye  when  men  shall  reproach 
you,  and  persecute  you,  and  say  all  manner  of  evil  against 

191 


The  Messages  of  the 

you  falsely  for  my  sake.  Rejoice  and  be  exceeding  glad, 
for  great  is  your  reward  in  heaven  ;  "  and  of  such  expres- 
sions of  the  Christian  faith  at  its  height  as  this:  "If  we 
died  with  him,  we  shall  also  live  with  him  :  if  we  endure, 
we  shall  also  reign  with  him." 

7.  Its  Teachings  and  Value 

The  predic-  The  book  predicts  the  speedy  coming  of  God,  in  or 
Revelation  with  the  coming  of  Christ,  as  judge.  Christians  will  then 
be  divided,  the  true  from  the  false.  Rome  will  fall  and 
Satan  himself,  whose  power  Rome  embodies,  will  be  first 
bound  and  finally  destroyed.  Those  who  are  faithful 
unto  death  in  the  present  trials  will  have  as  their  special 
reward  a  place  of  glory  and  power  by  the  side  of  Christ 
during  the  thousand  years  of  his  earthly  rule.  The  final 
destiny  of  all  believers  is  to  live  with  God  and  Christ  in 
eternal  blessedness.  The  fall  of  Rome  is  described  in  a 
variety  of  ways.  It  is  not  clear  whether  the  author  thought 
that  a  literal  earthquake  would  have  part  in  its  overthrow 
(6:12-17;  16:17-21),  or  whether  it  would  fall  before 
foreign  hosts,  especially  the  Parthians  with  Nero  at  their 
head  (9  :  13  ff.  ;  16  :  12-16  ;  17  :  16  ff.),  or  whether  the  re- 
turning Christ  would  smite  it  (19  :  11  ff.).  In  any  case  the 
outpouring  of  God's  wrath  against  Rome  is  part  of  a  larger 
judgment,  which  involves  the  fall  of  Satan  and  all  his  evil 
powers.  Behind  the  world  empire  are  spiritual  powers  of 
darkness.     Their  conflicts  with  angelic  powers  of  good 

192 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

form  the  invisible  background  and  ultimate  explanation 
of  the  power  of  evil  on  earth  and  the  guarantee  of  its  final 
overthrow. 

It  is  hard  to  distinguish  between  figure  and  reality  in  our  Points  of 
author's  predictions,  but  two  things  he  certainly  held  with  s  res! 
all  the  energy  of  his  being :  the  approaching  fall  of  the 
Roman  empire,  and  the  reward  in  a  power  and  blessedness 
far  beyond  anything  earthly  that  awaited  those  who  were 
faithful  even  to  martyrdom  in  their  resistance  against  the 
force  and  persuasions  of  the  world  power. 

Underlying  the  religion  of  the  book  is  the  faith  in  one  Ruling  re- 
God,  who  was  and  is  and  is  to  come,  and  the  certainty  that  glousl  eas 
his  power  is  absolute  and  must  prevail.  The  transcend- 
ence of  God  and  the  inevitableness  of  his  purposes  are 
emphasized,  while  the  qualities  of  fatherhood  which  Christ 
disclosed  do  not  appear.  Second  only  to  God  is  Christ. 
He  is  seen  as  an  angelic  being  (i  :  9-20),  yet  in  power  and 
dignity  is  above  all  angels,  even  those  nearest  God's  throne 
(5  :  1  ff.).  The  earthly  Jesus  is  wholly  out  of  view  apart 
from  his  redeeming  death,  and  the  spirit  of  his  life  and 
teaching  is  hardly  to  be  felt.  He  is  given  titles  that  belong 
to  God  (1  :  17-18 ;  2:8;  22  :  13),  is  worshipped  by  angels 
and  men  (5  :  9-14),  and  not  only  reigns  during  the  earthly 
millennium,  but  sits  with  God  on  his  throne  in  the  final 
consummation  (21  :  22-23  >  22  :  I_3)- 

The  Christianity  of  the  book  has  on  the  one  hand  a 
Jewish  character,  and  on  the  other  various  aspects  closely 

J93 


The  Messages  oj  the 

Relation  to  related  to  Paul.  It  is  not  certain  that  Paul's  influence  is  to 
Christianity  be  recognized.  It  is  as  probable  that  the  book  represents  a 
late  development  of  primitive  Christianity  in  which  a  very 
high  Christology  and  a  broad  universality,  that  is,  an  entire 
freedom  from  Jewish  particularism,  had  been  gained  largely 
or  altogether  apart  from  Paul. 


II 

THE   MESSAGES    OF    CHRIST   TO    THE    CHURCHES 

i.  The  Seven  Churches  oj  Asia 

The  seven  The  seven  letters  seem  unmistakably  to  be  addressed 
to  seven  actual  churches  within  a  certain  radius  of  Ephe- 
sus,  for  the  description  of  the  character  and  conditions  of 
each  is  distinct  and  concrete.  Yet  on  the  other  hand  the 
choice  of  only  seven  in  a  region  where  there  were  certainly 
more  suggests  that  under  the  form  of  addressing  specific 
churches  the  writer  meant  to  address  all  churches  in  the 
province  of  Asia,  or  all  churches  in  general,  and  all  Chris- 
tians. Only  in  such  an  ideal  or  representative  sense,  it 
would  seem,  could  the  seven  churches  be  identified  with 
the  seven  candlesticks  and  stars  (i  :  12-20;  2  :  1).  Each 
letter,  moreover,  is  formally  declared  to  contain  what  the 
Spirit  says  to  the  churches.  It  is  certain  that  these  are 
not  letters  like  those  of  Paul,  and  that  they  were  never  sent 
separately  to  the  various  communities.     The  seven  mes- 

194 


cities 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

sages  form  together  the  complete  message  of  Christ  to  the 
entire  body  of  his  followers.  They  were  meant  to  be  read 
together,  and  were  probably  meant  originally  to  introduce, 
as  they  now  do,  a  book  of  prophecies  which  do  not  con- 
cern any  special  cities,  nor  even  any  one  region  alone,  but 
the  whole  Roman  empire,  and  even  the  whole  world. 

These  seven  cities  were  indeed  important,  and  if  we 
could  suppose  that  each  was  understood  as  "  the  centre 
and  head  of  a  district,"  !  they  might  be  made  to  include  the 
Christians  of  the  Province  of  Asia.  It  is  hard,  however, 
to  account  for  the  omission  of  such  old  and  important 
churches  as  those  at  Colossae  and  Hierapolis  except  by 
the  determination  to  hold  to  the  number  seven,  unless, 
indeed,  the  limitation  lay  in  the  personal  knowledge  or 
relationships  of  the  writer. 

Ephesus,  Smyrna  and  Pergamum  deserved  to  be  named 
first  in  any  list  of  the  cities  of  Asia.     They  vied  with  each 

1  Ramsay  now  argues  (The  Expositor,  1904)  that  the  seven  cities  were  situ- 
ated along  the  line  of  certain  great  roads  which  a  messenger  would  naturally 
follow,  and  that  they  were  suitable  distributing  points  where  seven  other  mes- 
sengers could  take  letters  and  make  smaller  circuits,  each  in  his  own  region. 
The  theory  is  not  without  its  attractions,  but  presents  difficulties  as  well. 
Ramsay  regards  the  writer  as  "charged  with  the  superintendence  and  over- 
sight of  all  those  churches  [of  Asia  Minor],  invested  with  divinely  given  and 
absolute  authority  over  them."  But  an  apocalypse  is  not  the  form  in  which 
we  should  expect  such  a  bishop  to  embody  his  message,  and  Ramsay  thinks 
the  choice  of  this  literary  form  unfortunate.  In  truth,  the  fact  that  our  book 
is  an  apocdypse  weighs  against  Ramsay's  view  of  its  author  and  its  purpose, 
and  the  method  of  its  circulation.  See  his  Letters  to  the  Seven  Churches 
(N.  Y.,  1905). 

195 


The  Messages  of  the 

other  for  the  title  of  first  city  of  the  province.  Since  Ephe- 
sus  stands  first  in  the  list,  the  others  following  in  a  geo- 
graphical order,  moving  north,  east  and  south,  it  was  prob- 
ably regarded  as  the  capital  by  the  writer  and  by  popular 
opinion.  It  seems,  however,  that  the  older  capital,  Per- 
gamum,  retained  its  place  in  the  official  view  until  after  our 
book  was  written,  for  it  was  not  only  the  first  city  to  have 
the  honor  of  a  temple  to  Rome  and  Augustus  (29  B.  C), 
but  also  the  first  to  be  granted  a  second  imperial  temple, 
probably  under  Trajan.  Smyrna  had  a  temple  to  Ti- 
berius in  26  A.  D.  It  is  possible  that  Ephesus  received 
this  distinction  under  Claudius  (41-54  A.  D.).  There 
was  a  temple  there  to  Augustus  much  earlier  (before 
5  B.  C),  but  as  it  was  not  ordered  by  Rome  it  did  not  in- 
volve the  title  Neocoros,  that  is,  "warden  of  a  temple  dedi- 
cated to  the  imperial  cultus."  This  title,  which  is  found  on 
coins  and  inscriptions,  appears  not  to  have  been  held  by 
others  of  the  seven  cities  until  long  after  the  time  of  this 
book.  It  cannot  therefore  be  said  that  the  choice  of  the 
seven  was  due  to  the  special  prevalence  in  them  of  this 
cult. 
Allusions  Professor  Ramsay  finds   in  the  letters  allusions  to  the 

the  history    past  history  and  current  reputation  of  the  various  cities, 
of  the  cities    as  wejj  as  to  ^e  concjitions  and  character  of  the  churches 
located  in  them.    Thus  he  finds  an  allusion  to  the  fact  that 
Smyrna  was  destroyed  about  600  B.  C,  and  not  re  founded 
until  about  300  B.  C,  in  the  description  of  Christ  as  one 

196 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

who  died  and  lived  again,  and  the  promise  to  the  faithful 
disciple  to  gain  life  through  death.  Sardis  was  known  as  a 
city  of  the  past,  decayed  from  its  former  estate.  It  had 
also  twice  been  taken  by  stealth  in  spite  of  its  supposed 
impregnable  position.  So  3  :  1-3  applies  with  singular 
fitness  to  the  town  as  well  as  to  the  church.  Laodicea 
had  become  rapidly  rich  under  Roman  rule,  rebuilding 
itself  after  destruction  by  earthquake,  in  60  A.  D.,  without 
such  help  from  Rome  as  oth  r  cities  received  in  like  cir- 
cumstances (see  3:17).  It  was  a  financial  centre,  owing  to 
its  situation  at  the  crossing  of  three  great  highways.  There 
are  allusions  to  things  for  which  it  was  specially  famous 
in  3  :  18.  Since  in  Thyatira  the  guild  of  coppersmiths 
was  influential,  it  is  possible  that  the  tutelary  deity  of  the 
city  was  represented  with  feet  of  brass,  as  Christ  is  in  2  :  18. 
Philadelphia  had  an  "open  door"  for  trade  with  the  in- 
terior of  the  country,  and  so  also  for  Christian  missions 
(3:8;  cf.  2  Cor.  2  :  12).  This  is  not  wholly  convincing. 
Moreover  it  is  the  church,  not  the  city,  which  the  writer 
describes  and  approves  or  condemns,  and  with  which  in 
each  case  he  seems  to  show  intimate  personal  knowledge. 
But  Professor  Ramsay  points  out  that  the  special  danger  of 
the  church  might  well  lie  in  the  peculiar  character  of  the 
city  in  which  it  was  ;  for  the  one  danger  was  the  influence 
of  Greco  -Roman  life  and  ideas,  and  this  took  its  form  and 
got  its  strength  from  the  special  circumstances  of  the  several 
towns.     The  wealth  and  worldly  pride  of  Laodicea  were 

197 


The  Messages  oj  the 

reflected  in  the  church.  The  strength  of  trade  guilds 
in  Thyatira  led  to  the  temptation  to  join  them,  though 
practical  idolatry  and  perhaps  the  danger  of  immorality 
were  involved  in  the  common  meal  which  bound  the  mem- 
bers together.  The  significance  of  Pergamum  as  the  cen- 
tre of  the  worship  of  the  emperor  explained  the  dangers 
that  threatened  the  church  there. 

The  two  churches  which  were  most  praised,  Smyrna 
and  Philadelphia,  were  the  two  in  which  the  Jews  are 
mentioned  as  troublesome.  It  has  been  pointed  out  as  a 
striking  fact  that  these  two  churches  are  those  that  have 
proved  in  later  history  most  tenacious  of  life  and  most 
loyal  to  Christianity.  Smyrna  is  still  the  most  flourishing 
and  the  most  occidental  of  the  cities  of  Asia  Minor,  and 
Philadelphia  has  most  successfully  resisted  the  Turk,  and 
is  still  largely  Christian  (see  3  :  i2a). 
A  region  of  Another  important  fact  about  these  cities  is  that  they  had 
eart  qua  es  suffere(j  muc\i  from  earthquakes.  A  great  earthquake  in 
17  A.  D.  destroyed  Sardis  and  Philadelphia  and  several 
other  cities.  Tiberius  contributed  largely  to  the  rebuild- 
ing of  them.  Other  destructive  earthquakes  are  also  re- 
corded. It  is  further  to  be  remembered  that  these  prov- 
inces were  near  the  Parthian  frontier,  and  would  feel  the 
menace  to  Roman  power  from  this  its  only  serious  rival. 
We  shall  notice  further  on  that  Asia  Minor  was  the  centre 
of  a  zealous  imperialism,  whereas  in  Rome  itself  the  old 
republican  ideals  still  had  much  power,  and  the  growing 

198 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

pretensions  of  the  emperors  were  by  no  means  universally 
approved. 

An  important  problem  is  presented  by  the  address  "  to  The  angels 
the  angel  of  the  church."  It  does  not  seem  probable  that  churches 
a  bishop  or  any  other  officer  of  a  church  could  be  so  com- 
pletely identified  with  the  church  itself  as  this  angel  is.  He 
is  warned,  blamed,  praised,  wholly  as  if  he  were  the  church 
itself,  and  never  once  in  his  separate  personal  character 
and  official  responsibility.  It  is  probable  therefore  that 
the  angel  of  the  church  is  its  heavenly  counterpart,  or  rep- 
resentative, not  its  heavenly  ruler  or  guardian  or  advocate, 
but  simply  its  heavenly  presence,  a  personification  of  its 
actual  character,  the  church  itself  regarded  as  a  person. 
The  conception  of  angelic  representatives  of  kingdoms 
and  nations  is  frequently  found  in  various  forms  in  Jewish 
writings,  and,  as  will  appear,  is  not  wanting  elsewhere  in 
the  book  before  us.  The  writer  may  have  chosen  this 
form  of  address  to  fit  the  heavenly  setting  of  the  vision. 
The  heavenly  Christ  speaks  to  the  heavenly  presences  of  the 
churches  the  things  which  John  writes  to  the  churches  them- 
selves. The  message  of  the  Christ-angel  to  the  church- 
angel  must  be  written  in  order  that  it  may  reach  the  actual 
church  on  earth,  and  the  identification  of  the  two  is  so  close 
that  it  can  be  said  that  John  writes  to  the  angel. 

The  letters  are  introduced  by  descriptions  of  Christ, 
which  are  in  most  cases  borrowed  from  the  vision  (i  :  12- 
20),  and  close  with  promises  which  in  most  cases  anticipate 

199 


The  Messages  oj  the 

The  artistic  the  fuller  descriptions  of  the  life  to  come  in  the  closing 
stnicfure  of  chapters  of  the  book.  The  selection  of  descriptive  feat- 
the  letters  ures  from  the  vision  of  Christ  is  in  several  cases  made 
with  reference  to  the  special  message  of  the  letter  ;  and 
this  is  sometimes,  though  not  so  often  and  clearly,  the  case 
with  the  selection  of  the  reward.  This  artistic  structure 
is  at  many  points  so  evident,  and  the  skill  displayed  so 
great,  that  we  may  suppose  that  a  reason  determined  the 
choice  of  titles  and  rewards  where  it  is  not  now  evident. 
The  first  reward  suggests  Eden  ;  the  second,  the  Fall ;  the 
third,  the  Wilderness  ;  the  fourth,  the  Kingdom.  Yet  it 
is  hardly  probable  that  the  writer  intended  to  represent  the 
fulfilment  of  successive  stages  of  Old  Testament  history. 
The  histori-  In  regard  to  the  historical  situation,  it  is  to  be  observed 
that  some  persecutions  are  past,  but  that  general  and  se- 
vere persecution  seems  to  be  a  thing  of  the  future,  though 
it  is  regarded  as  imminent.  The  present  tendency  in  the 
churches  is  toward  a  relaxation  of  earlier  Christian  faith 
and  zeal,  a  loss  of  love  and  the  adoption  of  heathen  ways  of 
living  and  thinking.  The  influence  of  the  ruling  culture, 
of  the  ideas  and  practices  of  the  great  Greco-Roman  world, 
is  strong.  Degeneracy  is  either  seen  or  feared  by  the 
writer,  and  his  admonition  is  to  get  back  what  they  have 
lost,  and  to  hold  fast  what  they  have,  even  if  faithfulness 
means  death. 

Since  in  later  parts  of  the  book  resistance  against  the 
enticements  and  compulsions  of  emperor  worship  is  most 

200 


cal  situation 


Apocalyptical  Writers 


strongly  urged,  both  by  threat  and  by  promise  (13  ;  15  :  2  ;  The  Nico- 
16:51,  10;  17:6;    io:2of.  ;   20:4-6),  it  is  natural  toKSSLSes 
regard  this  as  the  fundamental  teaching  underlying  the 
practical  heathenism,  the  conformity  to  heathen  ways,  of 
the  Nicolaitans  or  Balaamites  (2  :  6,  14-15),  and  of  the 
false  prophetess  (2  :  20  ff.). 

This  is  confirmed  by  the  fact  that  Pergamum  was  the 
city  where  the  emperor  cult  was  first  introduced  with 
temple  and  priesthood.  The  language  used  points  to  a 
Christian  sect,  claiming  apostolic  authority  (2:2;  cf.  6), 
authenticating  itself  by  prophecy  (2 :  20),  claiming  to 
possess  a  teaching  of  a  peculiar  mystery  and  value,  called 
"deep  things  of  Satan"  by  our  author  (2  :  15,  24),  not 
libertine  to  the  degree  of  heathenish  immorality,  yet 
believing  that  Christian  faith  did  not  prevent  free  asso- 
ciation with  heathen,  and  such  conformity  to  their  ways 
as  this  involved,  perhaps  more  exactly  the  eating  at  a 
common  table  in  connection  with  religious  rites,  such  as 
was  involved  in  membership  in  one  of  the  Greek  guilds 
or  social  clubs.  Perhaps  even  participation  in  the  im- 
perial cult  was  allowed  by  some  Jewish  synagogues,  for 
the  relations  of  Jews  in  the  Dispersion  to  heathen  varied 
through  all  the  gradations  from  strict  separation  to  prac- 
tical conformity. 


201 


The  Messages  oj  the 


2.  The  Letters  to  the  Churches  (1-3) 
(1)  Superscription  (1:1-3) 


Authorship  The  author  of  this  revelation  is  Christ,  who,  however, 
uuictTofthe  received  it  from  God,  that  he  might  give  it  to  the  Christian 
(T°i_)  community.  The  mode  of  its  communication  was  through 
an  angel,  who  again  imparted  it  by  visions  to  John.  It 
can  therefore  with  equal  right  be  called  the  word  of  God, 
or  the  testimony  of  Jesus,  or  the  things  that  John  saw.  Its 
contents  is  the  prediction  of  future  events,  those  that  are 
not  of  a  remote  but  of  the  immediate  future.  Its  im- 
portance is  great  because  the  events  it  foretells  are  not  only 
most  significant  but  also  near  at  hand  ;  therefore,  happy  is 
he  that  reads  in  the  public  meetings,  and  happy  they  that 
hear  and  observe  these  prophecies. 

(2)  Introduction  (1  :  4-8) 

Salutation,        John  salutes  the  seven  churches  that  are  in  Asia.     I 
mary  of  the  wish  you  the  blessing  of  God,  the  seven  spirits — that  is,  his 
Theology       spirit,  perfect  and  one  in  its  various  workings — and  Jesus 
(1:4-6)        Christ,  these  three;  and  would  remind  you  that  Christ 
gained  his  kingly  place  through  his  faithful  testimony  and 
his  resurrection  from  death.     His  love  to  us  not  only  re- 
deemed us  from  sin,  but  will  exalt  us  also  to  a  kingship 
and  priesthood  like  his  own.1     To  him  therefore  our  praise 
is  due. 

1  Ex.  19:  6  ;  cf.  1  Pet.  2:9. 
202 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

My  message  is  that  it  is  this  Christ  who  is  coming  in  The  theme: 
majesty,  as  Daniel !  prophesied  ;  it  is  he  whose  coming  will  of  Christ^ 
produce  in  those  who  rejected  and  crucified  him  that  terror  (l :  ^ 
and  dismay  of  which  Zechariah  2  wrote. 

I,  the  Lord  God,  the  ultimate  author  of  this  revelation,  The  attesta- 
attest  it  by  my  name,  Jehovah,  which  means  that  I  am  not  bookby  God 
only  the  God  of  the  present  and  of  the  past,  but  also  of  J"m8S)eIf 
the  future  (cf.  Ex.  3  :  14  ;  Isa.  44  :  6  ;  48 :  12). 

(3)  The  Prophet's  Call  and  Commission  (1  : 9-20) 

I,  John,  the  immediate  author  of  this  book,  one  with  The  calling 
you  in  faith  and  suffering,  received  my  message  in  this  prophet 
manner:  I  was  in  the  island  of  Patmos  in  banishment  on  ^-9_Il) 
account  of  my  preaching  of  the  gospel.     It  was  on  a  Sun- 
day when  in  a  state  of  ecstasy  I  heard  a  loud  voice  com- 
manding me  to  write  what  I  saw  and  send  it  to  seven 
specified  churches  in  leading  cities  in  the  province  of  Asia. 
Turning  to  see  who  spoke,  I  saw  the  heavenly  Christ.     His  and  his  vis- 
appearance  was  that  of  one  in  priestly  dress,  but  of  kingly  Christ,  who 
power  and  heavenly   radiance,   with   dazzling  eyes   and{J^ehlin 
shining  feet  and  resounding  voice.     He  seemed  to  me  like  Y^^^ 
the  two  whom  Daniel  saw  in  his  vision,  the  Ancient  of  Days 
and  the  one  like  a  man  ; 3  but  also,  and  even  more,  like  his 
vision  of  the  angel  Gabriel.4    He  stood  in  the  midst  of 
seven  candlesticks  and  had  seven  stars  in  his  right  hand 

1  Dan.  7:13.  3  Dan.  7 : 9,  13. 

2  Zech.  12 :  10.  4  Dan.  10:  5-6. 

203 


The  Messages  oj  the 

and  a  sword  in  his  mouth,  symbol  of  the  judicial  and  de- 
stroying power  of  divine  words.1  I  was  overcome,  and 
fainted  at  this  sublime  sight,  but  he  put  his  hand  on  me 
and  said,  I  am,  even  as  God  is,  the  first  and  the  last,2  and, 
by  pre-eminence,  the  living  one,  since  I  died  and  yet  now 
live,  and  so  have  gained  authority  over  death.  I  repeat 
therefore  my  command  that  you  write  what  you  have 
seen  and  what  you  are  to  see.  Take  heed  especially  to 
the  seven  stars  and  candlesticks.  The  candlesticks  are 
the  churches  amid  which  I  stand,  and  the  stars  represent 
the  personal  being  and  character  of  the  several  churches. 
What  you  behold,  then,  is  the  truth  that  I,  the  glorious  and 
divine  Christ,  who  contain  and  surpass  all  Old  Testament 
visions  of  a  Messianic  or  angelic  man,  and  even  include 
essential  marks  of  God  himself,  live  amid  my  churches 
and  have  perfect  knowledge  of  them  and  absolute  au- 
thority over  them.  My  message  which  you  are  to  convey 
to  them  they  must  therefore  hear  and  heed. 

(4)  The  Seven  Letters 

The  church  He  who  has  authoritative  possession  of  the  churches 
fs  praised13  and  is  present  in  their  midst  says,  I  know  your  merit  in 
[fonof new0  zealously  excluding  false  apostles  and  in  the  patient  en- 
teachings,  durance  of  trials.  Yet  you  have  lost  something  of  the 
for  the  loss  brotherly  love  that  marked  earlier  days.  I  charge  you  to 
love  recover  this,  lest  I  deny  your  right  to  a  place  among  Chris- 

(2  :  1-7) 

1  Isa.  11:4;  49:  2 ;  Ps.  Sol.  17 :  27,  39.  2  Isa.  44: 6  ;  48: 12. 

204 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

tian  churches.  Yet  your  zeal  against  the  Nicolaitans1  is 
praiseworthy.  Listen  then  to  this  prophetic  message.  He 
who  victoriously  resists  these  evil  influences  shall  gain  the 
right  which  man  lost  in  Adam,  the  right  to  eternal  life  in 
the  blessed  presence  of  God. 

He  who  knows  by  experience  that  death  leads  to  life  The  church 
says,  I  know  your  worth  amid  persecutions  at  the  hands  JspST 
of  those  who  are  Tews  in  name  but  not  in  realitv,  having  and  ior,e\ 

r, ......  warned  of 

fallen  into  heathenish  ways  of  living  (or,  having  failed  to  increasing 
join  the  Christian  community,  which  now  forms  the  true  flfs-ii1)01113 
Judaism).  You  are  about  to  suffer  still  more  severely 
for  a  short  time.  But  if  you  are  faithful  in  prison  and 
even  in  martyrdom  you  will  win  the  prize  of  eternal  life. 
Listen  to  this  prophetic  message.  He  that  triumphantly 
endures  trial,  even  to  the  suffering  of  bodily  death,  shall 
escape  real  death,  the  death  of  the  soul. 

He  whose  words  have  power  to  judge  and  destroy  says,  Pergamum 
I  know  that  your  city  is  the  first  and  chief  seat  of  the  wor-  for^atthful- 
ship  of  the  emperor,  and  that  even  in  the  time  of  Antipas,  hardamnd 
that  representative  martyr  (the  first?),  who  fell  a  victim  ditions 
to  the  imperial  religion,  you  did  not  deny  me.     Yet  there 
are  some  among  you  who  practise  and  teach  conformity  but  blamed 
to  heathen  manners  and  morals.     For  as  Balaam's  coun-  \°rg 'af0at' 
sel  led  to  the  fall  of  Israel  into  unchastity,2  so  the  Nicolai-  pan  party 

1  Probably  the  same  as  the  false  apostles. 

2  By  applying  Num.  31  :  16  to  25  :  1  ff.,  Jewish  tradition  made  Balaam 
responsible  for  Israel's  sin,  and  so  the  type  of  a  false  religious  teacher  (Philo, 
Vila  Mosis,  i.,  48-55  ;  Josephus,  Ant.,  iv.,  6  : 6  ff.). 

205 


The  Messages  oj  the 


Thyatira  is 
praised  for 
Christian 
growth 
(2  :  18-19), 
but  blamed 
for  allowing 
a  false 
prophetess 
(2  :  20-29) 


tans  [whose  very  name  may  be  taken  as  the  Greek  equiva- 
lent for  Balaam,  meaning  conqueror,  or  lord  of  the  people] 
have  misled  some  among  you.  Remove  this  fault,  or  else  I 
will  come  and  speak  against  you  my  destroying  words. 
Listen  to  this  prophetic  message  :  He  that  conquers  shall 
receive  [in  place  of  the  polluted  food  wh*ch  some  of  you 
now  eat]  heavenly  sustenance,  as  rare  and  precious  as  the 
manna  once  kept  before  the  ark  in  the  holy  place,  which 
God  hid  when  the  temple  was  destroyed,  and  kept  for  the 
Messianic  age.1  He  shall  receive  also  a  name  written  qa 
a  stone,  a  secret  name  known  only  to  him  who  receives  it.2 
The  Son  of  God,  of  heart -searching  vision  and  resistless 
strength,  says,  I  know  your  Christian  virtues,  and  how 
they  have  increased.  But  you  permit  the  presence  of  a 
false  prophetess,  who  like  Jezebel  of  old  teaches  you  to 
recognize  a  heathen  religion  and  conform  to  heathen  ways. 
She  has  been  warned  in  vain,  and  now  I  will  destroy  her 
and  all  her  followers  as  they  deserve,  for  my  eyes  discern 
the  heart.  I  add  no  other  charge3  except. to  avoid  this 
taint  of  idolatry  and  unchastity,  which  disguises  itself  as 

1  Ex.  16  :  32-34  ;  Heb.  9:4;  2  Mac.  2  :  4-8  ;  Apoc.  of  Baruch  6  :  7-10  ; 
29  :8. 

2  Perhaps  the  symbol  is  derived  from  the  current  idea  of  secret  names  that 
had  mysterious  and  magical  powers.  No  heathen  sect  possessed  so  potent  a 
secret  of  renewal  and  salvation  as  would  be  granted  to  the  faithful  Christian. 

3  Cf.  Acts  15  :  28.  In  the  Teaching  of  the  Twelve  6:3,  as  in  Rev.,  the 
prohibition  of  eating  things  strangled,  and  blood  {i.e.,  meat  killed  in  a  way 
not  according  with  Jewish  rules),  is  not  added,  and  the  rule  agrees  with  Paul's 
practice  (1  Cor.  10  :  21). 

206 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

an  especially  advanced  and  profound  doctrine,  and  also 
to  keep  what  you  have  till  I  come.  He  that  successfully 
resists  this  temptation  shall  have  the  place  of  kingly  rule 
over  the  heathen — over  this  very  Roman  empire  to  which 
some  would  have  you  submit — which  God  promised,  in 
the  Book  of  Psalms,1  to  his  son,  Israel,  and  which  he  gave 
to  me,  his  Son.     Give  heed  to  this  prophetic  message. 

He  that  has  divine  omniscience  says,  I  know  that  you  Sardis  is 
have  the  reputation  of  living,  but  you  are  spiritually  dead.  foremost 
Guard  what  little  good  remains,  for  you  have  brought  part  desen- 
nothing  to  completion.     Strive  to  recover  what  you  have  (3  =  1-3), 
lost,  lest  I  come  upon  you  with  sudden  judgment.     There 
are  indeed  a  few  pure  souls  left  among  you,  to  whom  my  yet  a  few 
coming  will  be  a  blessing.     All  such  shall  have  their  purity  areVorthy 
made  manifest,  and  shall  be  known  as  my  disciples  in  the  ^3  :  4~6^ 
presence  of  God,  even  as  I  promised.2     Give  heed  to  this 
prophetic  message. 

The  message  of  the  holy  and  true  one,  of  whom  that  is  Philadel- 
supremely  true  which  Isaiah  said  of  Eliakim,3  that  he  is  the  poised  for 
highest  officer  in  the  palace,  and  can  admit  and  exclude  Jts  .^fj1^ 
whom  he  will :     I  know  your  faithfulness,  weak  though 
you  are.     It  is  to  you  that  I  open  that  door  to  authority 
rather  than  to  those  who  are  Jews  by  birth,  but  not  by 
character.     These  instead  shall  be  subject  to  you ;  and 
you,  for  your  fidelity,  I  will  protect  in  the  approaching 

1  Ps.  2  :  8-g.  2  Matt.  10  :  32=Lu.  12  :  8  ;  cf.  Mk.  8  :  38=Lu.  9  :  26. 

3  Isa.  22  :  22. 

207 


The  Messages  o)  the 

world  judgment.     My  coming  is  near.     Be  faithful,  and 

your  royalty  will  be  secure.     He  that  conquers  shall  have 

a  permanent  place  of  honor  before  God,  and  shall  be  known 

as  belonging  to  God,  and  to  the  promised  royal  city,  and 

to  me.     Take  heed  to  this  prophetic  message. 

Laodicea  is       The  message  of  him  whose  word  is  absolute  truth,  the 

itsaspiritual   faithful  witness  and  martyr,  and  so  your  example,  but  also 

aSdworldly  ^e  beginning  or  principle  of  creation,  and  so  your  Lord  and 

prosperity     Judge  :     I  know  and  abhor  your  indifference,  and  dull 

(3  •  14-22)    ■'     ° 

insensibility.  You  are  outwardly  prosperous  and  self- 
satisfied,  but  are  really  in  wretched  want.  I  advise  you 
to  get  from  me  true  riches,  and  the  white  raiment  of  purity, 
and  a  cure  for  the  blindness  of  the  soul.1  This  severity  of 
my  rebuke  is  but  a  sign  of  my  love  to  you,  and  is  meant  to 
lead  you  to  repentance.  I  am  ready  to  come  as  a  friend 
to  every  one  of  you  who  is  willing  to  receive  me.  The 
victor  in  this  conflict  against  worldliness  will  be  with  me 
and  share  my  glory  [which  is  far  greater  than  the  earthly 
glory  you  covet],  as  I  conquered  and  share  the  glory  of 
God.     Give  heed  to  this  prophetic  message. 

1  Ramsay  thinks  the  suggestion  is  :  Instead  of  the  gold  of  your  famous 
bankers,  and  your  boasted  garments  of  black  wool,  and  the  "Phrygian 
Powder"  with  which  you  claim  to  cure  diseased  eyes. 


208 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

III 

VISION   OF   THE    CHIEF   ACTORS   OF   THE   FUTURE 

I.  Sources  and  Character  of  the  Visions  of  God  and  of 

Christ 
The  vision  of  God  in  chapter  4  is  based  on  that  of  Ezekiel  The  four 
(chs.  1, 10)  and  Isaiah  (ch.  6).  The  conception  of  the  heav- living  beings 
enly  dwelling-place  of  God  is  doubtless  older  still  (see  Ex. 
24  :  10  ;  1  Kings  22  :  19),  though  it  is  not  much  elaborated 
elsewhere  in  the  Old  Testament.1  The  four  living  beings 
come  directly  from  Ezekiel  (1  :  5,  18,  etc.).  We  are  not, 
however,  to  suppose  that  he  originated  them.  They  go  back 
at  least  in  part  to  the  four  winds  which  bear  about  the 
storm-cloud,  God's  chariot  (Ezek.  1  :  4,  5).  These  wind- 
driven  clouds  are  the  cherubim  (Ezek.  9:3;  10  :  20)  which 
carry  God's  chariot  or  throne,  and  so  symbolize  his  pres- 
ence. Their  place  in  the  midst  of  the  throne  and  about  it 
(Rev.  4  :  6)  suggests  that  they  originally  supported  it.  Now 
if  the  throne  of  God  is  the  heaven  itself,  then  we  may  well 
suppose  that  the  number  four  goes  back  to  the  mythologi- 
cal conception  of  four  great  angelic  beings  supporting  the 
four  corners  of  heaven,  and  at  the  same  time  representing 
the  four  winds.2 

1  See  Dan.  7 : 9-10  ;  Enoch  14 : 8  ff.;  30-40  *,  46  ;  71 ;  Secrets  of  Enoch  20-22. 

2  See  Zech.  1  :  8  ff. ;  6,  and  Enoch  18  :  2-5,  "I  saw  the  four  wands  which 
bear  the  earth  and  the  firmament  of  heaven,  etc."  Further  compare  the  four 
presences  in  Enoch  40  and  Apoc.  of  Baruch  51  :  11;  21  : 6,  and  the  four  angels 
in  Enoch  87  :  2-3  ;  88  :  1  ;  cf.  90  :  31. 

209 


The  Messages  of  the 


The  seven 
spirits 


The  twenty- 
four  elders 


The  seven  spirits  (v.  5)  are  an  important  feature  in  our 
author's  angelology.  In  1  :  4  they  are  mentioned  between 
God  and  Christ.  A  closely  related  conception  is  contained 
in  the  picture  of  Christ  as  standing  in  the  midst  of  the  seven 
lights  and  as  having  seven  stars  in  his  hand  (1  :  12,  16). 
Again  the  seven  angels  in  8  :  2  must  go  back  to  the  same 
original  idea.  Ezekiel  9  :  2  has  seven  angel  beings,  but 
it  is  from  Zechariah  4  that  we  get  most  light  on  the  my- 
thology that  underlies  the  conception.  Here  it  is  evident 
that  the  seven  never-failing  lights,  the  eyes  of  Jehovah,  are 
originally  stars,  and  no  doubt  the  seven  moving  objects  in 
the  heavens  (sun,  moon  and  five  planets).  These  would 
naturally  take  the  chief  place  in  the  hierarchy  of  heaven, 
and  the  central  one  of  the  seven,  the  sun,  would  be  supreme. 
In  the  following  vision  of  Christ  the  seven  spirits  of  God 
sent  out  into  all  the  earth  are  the  seven  eyes  of  Messiah 
(5:6).  So  bold  is  the  Christianization  of  an  Old  Testa- 
ment prophecy  (Zech.  4:  10),  and  so  free  the  poetic  use 
of  the  figure.  This  suggests  that  the  eyes  with  which 
the  four  living  beings  are  filled  l  may  have  been  originally 
the  multitude  of  the  fixed  stars. 

The  twenty-four  elders  are  a  harder  problem.  It  has 
been  usually  supposed  that  they  represent  the  twelve  patri- 
archs and  the  twelve  apostles,  and  so  the  complete  new 
community,  the  Christian  church.  But  they  appear  to  be 
associated,  as  the  seven  spirits  and  the  four  living  beings 

»  Ezek.  1  :  18  ;  Rev.  4  : 8. 
2IO 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

are,  with  God  rather  than  with  man.1  It  is  possible  that 
the  twenty-four  classes  of  priests  2  suggested  the  number  of 
this  angelic  priesthood.  But  on  the  other  hand  these 
beings  seem  to  be  kings  rather  than  priests.  They  form 
the  heavenly  court,  so  that  one  is  inclined  to  look  for  their 
antecedents  in  the  same  mythological  region  in  which  the 
four  living  beings  and  the  seven  spirits  have  their  origin. 
Hence  the  suggestion  has  weight  that  these  heavenly  kings 
were  once  gods,  and  that  the  Babylonians  seem  to  have 
known  twenty-four  star  gods,  who  formed  a  circle  around 
the  polar  star,  hence  were  perhaps  a  double  zodiac,  twelve 
constellations  in  the  north  half  and  twelve  in  the  south 
half  of  the  heavens.3 

What  do  these  conceptions  signify  to  our  writer?  Of  Poetic  use  of 
course,  Judaism  had  already  stripped  off  the  mythological  [£Ji  figures 
and  polytheistic  features  that  originally  belonged  to  them. 
The  four  and  seven  and  twenty-four  are  no  longer  gods ; 
they  are  only  angels,  or  spirits.  In  our  author's  use  of 
them  they  have  nothing  to  do  but  to  praise  and  exalt  God 
and  Christ.  The  twenty-four  are  crowned,  but  only  that 
they  may  cast  their  crowns  before  God,  and  renounce  all 
authority,  that  he  may  be  all  in  all.     In  our  vision  they 

1  For  the  use  of  the  word  "elders  "  of  a  class  of  angels  see  Isa.  24  :  23; 
Secrets  of  Enoch  4:1*,  cf.  Isa.  63  :  9,  LXX. 

2  1  Chron.  24  : 7-18 ;  Josephus,  Ant.,  vii.,  14  :  7  ;  Vita,  i. ;  and  the  Talmud, 
Taanith,  iv.,  2  ;  Sukka,  v.,  6-8. 

3  Gunkel,  Zum  religionsgeschichtlichen  Verstdndnis  des  Neuen  Testaments, 
pp.  42-43- 

211 


The  Messages  oj  the 


The  vision 
of  Christ 
and  the 
book 


The  exalta- 
tion of 
Christ 


are  essentially  figures,  helping  the  writer  to  give  effective 
poetic  form  and  expression  to  his  faith  that  God  is  before 
and  over  all,  that  creation  is  his  work,  and  that  he  who 
made  the  beginning  will  make  the  end.  The  future  can 
be  only  the  unfolding  of  his  plans  and  the  realization  of 
his  purposes. 

The  vision  of  Christ  in  chapter  5  is  made  up  of  wholly 
different  figurative  materials  from  that  in  1  :  12-20.  A  com- 
parison of  the  two  should  teach  us  how  free  our  author  is  in 
his  vision  creations,  and  how  far  from  imagining  that  he  is 
describing  heavenly  things  just  as  they  objectively  are. 
This  picture  of  Christ  has  more  elements  in  it  that  are  ex- 
clusively Christian  than  the  other,1  so  that  we  should  nat- 
urally ascribe  more  of  it  to  our  author  and  less  to  Jewish 
traditions.  Yet  here  also  it  is  probable  that  traditional 
material  has  been  made  use  of.  The  vision  introduces 
Christ  into  the  heavenly  scene  described  in  the  preceding 
chapter,  as  if  he  were  in  some  sense  a  new-comer,  who 
through  vicarious  death  has  gained  admission  there,  and 
now  displays  a  divine  power  which  none  of  the  angel  host, 
even  those  nearest  the  throne  of  God,  possess.  He  is 
therefore  hailed  as  a  greater  one  than  they  all.  They 
have  little  to  do  but  to  praise  and  glorify  God,  but  he  can 
know  the  hidden  purposes  of  God,  and  can  both  reveal 
them  and  co-operate  with  God  in  bringing  them  to  pass. 

1  References  to  the  atoning  death  of  Christ  in  the  expression  "  the  lamb  as 
if  slain,"  and  in  w.  9-10. 

212 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

The  thought  is  closely  parallel  to  that  of  Paul  in  Philippians 
2  :  5-1 1.  Christ  gained  through  his  redemptive  death  a 
place  of  glory  and  power  above  the  highest  angels.  They 
now  include  him  in  their  praises  by  the  side  of  God  himself. 
The  scene  may  almost  be  said  to  picture,  as  Gunkel  puts 
it,  "the  enthroning  of  a  new  god."  1  His  view  indeed  is 
that  the  material  came  ultimately  from  a  foreign  source, 
and  did  originally  describe  the  introduction  of  a  new  deity, 
into  some  pantheon,  and  the  demonstration  of  his  superi- 
ority by  his  taking  and  opening  a  magical  book.  The  The  magical 
book  is  one  of  such  mysterious,  magical  character  that 
the  opening  of  it  brings  about  the  end  of  the  world,  and 
until  one  comes  who  can  open  the  book  this  longed-for 
end  cannot  come.  It  is  not  in  itself  inconceivable  or  even 
improbable  that  a  Christian  apocalyptist  should  have  made 
use  of  such  a  scene.  Whether  he  did  or  not,  it  is  evident 
that  he  intends  to  picture  the  exaltation  of  Christ  to  the 
right  hand  of  God  as  due  to  his  sacrificial  death,  and  as 
demonstrated  by  his  power  to  know  and  to  bring  to  pass 
God's  purposes  regarding  the  end. 

The  vision  has  a  consoling  and  encouraging  message  for  Poetical 

...  ,  1        value  01  the 

those  who  are  enduring  persecution,  for  it  teaches  mat  vision 
present  events,  however  trying,  are  only  Christ's  fulfilment 
of  God's  purposes,  and  can  therefore  only  lead  in  the  end 
to  the  rescue  and  glory  of  Christ's  servants. 

The  question  how  the  writer  pictured  the  book  with 

1  Gunkel,  p.  62  f. 
213 


The  Messages  oj  the 

The  form  of  seven  seals  has  been  much  discussed,  and  cannot  be  an- 
swered with  confidence.  It  seems  on  the  whole  most 
probable  that  the  book  was  a  roll,  and  that  all  seven  seals 
along  the  edge  must  be  loosed  before  the  parchment  could 
be  unrolled.  Something  happens,  to  be  sure,  with  the 
breaking  of  each  seal,  but  it  is  not  said  that  a  part  of  the 
book  is  opened  and  read.  What  happened  was  rather  the 
appearance  on  the  scene  of  vision  of  the  various  actors  in 
the  last  things,  and  not  until  the  seventh  seal  is  opened 
do  the  preliminary  judgments  begin. 

2.  The  Vision  oj  God,  From  Whom  Are  All  Things  (4) 

Ecstasy,  and      After  this  I  saw,  as  did  Ezekiel,1  an  open  heaven,  and 
of  God's       the  same  voice  that  spoke  to  me  before  summoned  me  up 
throne  (1-3)  to  see  ^e  futUre.     I  was  at  once  in  an  ecstatic  condition, 
and  beheld  a  throne  in  heaven  and  the  one  that  sat  on  it, 
who  can  only  be  likened  to  jewels  surrounded  by  a  rain- 
The  twenty-  bow.     Around  the  central  throne  was  a  court  of  twenty- 
seven  spirits,  four  angel  beings,  crowned  and  sitting  on  thrones' like 
Uving°beings  princes,  dressed  in  white  like  priests.     As  at  Sinai,2  so 
here  the  presence  of  God  manifested  itself  in  the  form 
of  tempest.     Seven  lamps  typified  the  seven  divine  spirits.3 
Before  the  throne  of  God  stretched  the  blue  sky  like  a  trans- 
parent sea.4    Amid  and  about  the  throne  were  the  four 

1  Ezek.  1:1.  2  E.g.,  Ex.  19  :  16. 

3  Not,  as  in  1 :  20,  the  seven  churches. 

4  See  Ex.  24 :  10 ;  Ezek.  1:22,  En.  14 : 0-10. 

214 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

cherubim  which  Ezekiel  saw.1     They  had,  however,  six 
wings  like  the  seraphim  of  Isaiah's  vision,  and  uttered 
unceasingly  the  same  cry,  Holy,  Holy,  Holy  is  God  the 
Almighty.2     The  twenty-four  angelic  kings  and  priests  The  elders 
bowed  before  God,  and  renouncing  all  glory  of  their  own  ^supreme 
worshipped  him  as  absolute  creator.  (9-1 0 

3.  The  Vision  of  Christ,  Through  Whom  Are  All  Things  (5) 

On  God's  right  hand  I  saw  a  book-roll,  written  as  was  The  sealed 
Ezekiel's,3  on  the  outside  as  well  as  on  the  inside  of  the  nJJ|e  ^n°h 
parchment.     It  was  sealed  with  seven  seals,  so  that  before  open  ^~^ 
the  book  could  be  unrolled  and  read,  all  the  seven  seals 
must  be  loosed.     This  book,  which  contained  the  secret 
but'  determined  course  of  the  future,  could  not  be  opened 
by  any  angel  or  man.     I,  eager  to  know  the  future,  and  The  seer 
to  have  the  end  hastened,  mourned  at  its  impenetrable  reassured  * 
mystery,  but  was  assured  by  one  of  the  angel  priest-rulers  ^4~5^ 
that  the  Messiah  had  victoriously  achieved  the  power  to 
open  the  book,  and  so  to  know  and  bring  to  pass  the  des- 
tined future.     Then  I  saw,  not  one  like  the  expected  Jewish  Vision  of 
Messiah,  a  lion-like  conqueror,  but  one  like  a  lamb,  with  jesUS  (^j 
throat  cut  as  if  for  sacrifice.     Yet  this  gentle  and  suffering 
one  was  endowed  with  perfect  power  and  perfect  divine 
knowledge.     It  is  he  alone  that  has  power  to  know  and 
even  to  accomplish  the  execution  of  the  divine  will.     Then 
all  the  heavenly  host,  even  the  most  exalted,  acknowledged 

1  Ezek.  1 :  5-21 ;  10 : 1-22.  -  Isa.  6 : 2-3.  3  Ezek.  2 : 9-10. 

2I5 


The  Messages  oj  the 

He  is  praised  his  right,  just  because  of  his  death  and  its  universal  re- 
host  (8-14T  deeming  effect,  to  open  the  book  of  God's  future  purposes. 
To  him,  therefore,  praise  is  rendered  as  to  God  by  the 
angelic  hosts,  and  even  by  those  who  are  nearest  God's 
throne,  as  well  as  by  all  created  things. 

IV 

VISIONS   OF   THE    FIRST   STAGES   OF   THE    COMING 
JUDGMENT 

1.  Significance  oj  the  Six  Seals 
Further  ac-  It  is  not  clear  what  relation  exists  between  the  opening 
last  things  of  the  seals  of  the  book  and  that  which  the  prophet  sees 
and  hears.  We  do  not  have  a  progressive  unfolding  of 
the  future  as  if  the  book  were  being  read.  Indeed,  if  the 
book  could  not  be  opened  until  the  seven  seals  were  all 
loosened  we  should  not  expect  positive  disclosures  to  fol- 
low the  loosening  of  the  first  six.  In  fact,  these  only  bring 
visions  of  further  actors  in  the  drama.  Having  seen  God 
who  accomplishes  all  and  Christ  who  alone  has  power 
to  know  and  reveal  all  things,  and  to  be  God's  agent 
in  their  realization,  the  seer  now  beholds  a  series  of  de- 
structive agencies  through  which  God's  judgments  against 
evil  are  to  be  brought  to  pass.  Wars  and  famine  and  pes- 
tilence, the  prayers  of  the  wronged  for  vengeance,  and 
earthquake  shocks,  the  terror  of  which  these  cities  had 
known — these  are  the  instruments  of  the  divine  wrath. 

216 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

The  first  four  seals  are  so  distinct  in  character,  and  have  The  four 
such  obvious  relationship  to  the  four  horsemen  of  Zech- horsemea 
ariah's  vision  1  that  it  is  possible  that  in  some  source  of 
which  our  author  made  use  they  stood  alone.  It  is  tempt- 
ing to  think  that  the  original  close  was :  "And  there  was 
given  to  each  of  them  authority  over  a  fourth  of  the  earth 
to  kill  with  bow  and  with  sword  and  with  famine  and  with 
pestilence"  (see  v.  8b).  In  Zechariah  6  :  5  they  are  iden- 
tified with  the  four  winds,  messengers  of  God  who  bring 
him  news  of  the  world,  agents  of  his  omniscience,  and  per- 
haps also  fulfillers  of  his  will.  This  conception  seems  to  be 
still  in  the  background  of  our  writer's  thought  when  the 
delay  of  God's  judgment  is  figured  as  a  restraining  of  the 
four  winds  (7  :  1 ;  cf.  9  :  14,  15).  It  may  not  be  accidental 
also  that  the  four  horsemen  are  summoned  forth  by  the 
four  living  creatures,2  behind  whom  in  Ezekiel  the  four 
winds  are  still  discernible.  This,  however,  explains  only 
the  figure,  not  its  meaning.  The  four  horsemen  are  more 
completely  removed  from  this  mythological  origin  than  in 
Zechariah,  and  have  become  simple  poetic  imagery.  They 
are  clearly  interpreted  as  signifying  four  of  the  powers  of 
evil  which,  especially  in  Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel,  are  chief 
agents  in  God's  retributive  judgments.3 

1  Zech.  6  :  1-8  ;  1  :  8-1 1.  2  See  also  6  :  6. 

3Jer.  15  :  2-3;  24  :  10;  29  :  17-18;  42  :  17;  44  :  J3 ;  Ezek.  5  :  12,  17; 
14  :  21  ;  33  :  27.  Jn  the  summary  in  v.  8  the  wild  beasts  are  added  as  fre- 
quently in  the  prophetic  passages,  here  possibly  with  reference  to  gladiatorial 
contests. 

217 


The  Messages  oj  the 

Efficacy  of  The  fifth  seal  pictures  the  reality  and  efficacy  of  the 
pravers  prayers  of  the  persecuted  and  of  martyrs.  The  Old  Testa- 
ment contains  various  expressions  of  this  idea,  either  in 
literal  form  l  or  in  a  realistic  and  in  some  sense  figurative 
way.  Uncovered  blood  is  thought  to  cry  to  God  for  ven- 
geance.2 In  the  blood  was  the  soul  (Lev.  17  :  11,  etc.), 
and  so  beneath  the  altar,  where  the  blood  flowed,  the 
souls  of  the  slain  are  seen  praying  for  vengeance.  Else- 
where angels  are  thought  to  convey  such  prayers  to  God 
and  secure  their  hearing,3  a  thought  which  meets  us  in 
Revelation  5:8;  8  :  3-5.  The  latter  passage  shows  in  how 
real  a  sense  the  prayers  of  the  oppressed  were  instruments 
of  punishment  against  oppressors. 

The  souls  of  the  martyred  dead  are  pictured  as  under 
the  altar.  This  is  the  first  mention  of  an  altar  appar- 
ently in  heaven,  but  later  on  (ch.  8)  the  temple  scenery 
displaces  that  of  a  heavenly  court  (ch.  4).  Perhaps  we 
should  not  suppose  that  the  writer  is  describing  the  literal 
place  of  the  abode  of  the  righteous  dead  before  resurrection, 
but  rather  that  he  is  picturing  his  faith  in  the  final  efficacy 
of  their  prayers  in  a  form  familiar  to  apocalyptical  writers 
(see  2  Esd.  4  :  35-37). 

1  Ex.  22  :  23  f. ;   Deut.  15:9;  24  :  15  ;  Ecclus.  35  :  13  ff. ;  cf.  James  5  :  4. 
7  Gen.  4:10;   F.7ek.  24  :  7  f. ;  Job  16  :  18 ;  cf.  Enoch  22  :  5-7. 
3Zech.  1  :  12  ;  Tub.  12  :  12,  15  ;  Enoch  y  ;    15  :  2,  etc. 


2l8 


A pocalypticcl  Writers 

2.   The  Six  Destructive  Pcmers  (6) 

When  Christ  opened  the  first  seal  one  of  the  four  living  a  vision  of 
beings,  with  a  voice  like  a  peal  of  thunder,  summoned  Ji^ ... 
forth  a  white  horse  and  his  rider,  representing  a  royal  and 
conquering  nation  that  fights  with  a  bow   the  Parthians  ': 

At  the  opening  of  the  second  seal  I  heard  the  second  a  second 
living  creature  summon  forth  a  red  horse  and  his  rider,  t^0^) vvar 
representing  another  warlike  nation,  which  fights  with  a 
sword  (the  Roman?),  and  destroys  the  peace  of  the  earth. 

The  opening  of  the  third  seal  and  the  summons  of  the  a  vision  of 
third  creature  brought  before  me  the  vision  of  a  black  (dT^) 
horse  and  a  rider  holding  balances  in  his  hand,  symboliz- 
ing dearth  and  famine. 

At  the  opening  off  the  fourth  seal  and  the  call  of  the  fourth  a  vision  of 
creature  I  saw  a  pale  horse  and  its  rider,  signifying  death,  Jf5.  ^ff 
to  which  a  fourth  of  the  earth  was  given. 

When  the  fifth  seal  was  opened,  I  saw  under  the  altar  a  vision  of 
the  souls  of  the  martyrs  praying  for  vengeance  on  those  of'mSyre 
who   shed   their  blood.      They  were   assured   that   their*-0 : 9-Il) 
prayers  would  be  answered  after  a  little  while,  when  the 
number  of  martyrs  should  be  filled  up. 

At  the  opening  of  the  sixth  seal  I  saw  an  earthquake,  a  vision  of 
jreat  and  terrible  that  it  involved  nothing  less  than  the  ^f2l 
overthrow  of  earth  and  heaven.     At  this  all  (seven)  classes 
of  men,  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest  were  filled  with 
dismay.     This  was  the   coming  day  of  Jehovah,  which 

2IQ 


The  Messages  of  the 

Isaiah  and  many  prophets  after  him  had  described  in  the 
imagery  of  storm  and  earthquake  and  volcano.  Now  it  is 
come  in  its  unescapable  and  irresistible  might.1 

3.  Anticipations  in  Forms  Old  and  New 

Before  the  opening  of  the  seventh  seal,  for  the  strength- 
ening of  faith  before  the  fearful  and  protracted  tribulations 
still  to  come,  John  has  two  visions  of  the  safe-keeping 
and  final  blessedness  of  faithful  Christians.  The  two  ap- 
pear to  be  inharmonious  with  each  other.  In  one  (7  : 1-8) 
a  definite  number  of  Jews  are  sealed  before  the  coming 
of  evil  in  order  to  be  kept  from  it,  a  conception  like  that  of 
Ezekiel  9  :  4  ff.;  in  the  other  (7:9-17)^  countless  number 
from  all  nations  have  come  through  trials  to  heavenly 
blessedness.  It  is  quite  certain,  however,  that  the  first 
vision — probably  of  Jewish  origin,  and  originally  taken  in 
a  somewhat  literal  sense — is  for  our  author  a  figure,  and 
means  for  him  that  the  whole  perfect  number  of  those  who 
make  up  the  people  of  God,  the  true  Christians,  who  are 
in  our  writer's  view  the  only  true  Jews,  will  be  kept  from 
all  real  evil  in  the  coming  judgments.  This  does  not 
necessarily  mean,  however,  that  they  will  escape  physical 
death;  and  the  second  vision  pictures  the  coming  glory 
of  those  who  are  faithful  unto  death.     In  spite  of  appear- 

1  See  e.g.,  Isa.  2  :  12-22  ;  Zeph.  1  :  14  ff. ;  Joel  2  :  30-31  ">  3  :  15-16.  Notice 
that  we  have  in  this  sixth  seal  practically  a  description  of  the  last  judgment 
itself. 

220 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

ances,  it  seems  probable  that  the  writer  did  not  mean  to 
say  that  the  true  Christian  kernel  of  Israel  would  have  a 
first  place  and  separate  significance  in  the  consummation, 
and  that  to  them  the  multitudes  of  heathen  converts  would 
be  added  as  proselytes.  We  have  rather  two  forms  fur- 
nished in  part  by  tradition,  for  expressing  one  hope  for 
the  one  body  of  Christian  believers,  who  form  both  the 
true  Israel  and  an  innumerable  company  from  all  nations. 
It  is  a  vision  of  the  future,  not  of  the  present  heavenly 
blessedness  of  those  already  dead.  Nothing  in  the  clos- 
ing chapters  of  the  book  surpasses  this  picture  of  the 
consummation,  and  it  is  introduced  so  early  for  its  prac- 
tical power  to  encourage  faithfulness.  If  6:12-17,  in~ 
traducing  the  earthquake  as  one  of  the  agents  of  God's 
judgment,  really  describes  the  last  judgment  itself  by 
anticipation,  so  7:9-17  anticipates  the  final  blessedness. 
It  is  a  very  natural  suggestion  that  the  opening  of  the 
seventh  seal  (8:1)  originally  stood  before  7  :  1  or  7  :  9,  and 
that  the  seals  once  formed  a  complete  and  independent 
apocalypse.  Our  writer  would  then  have  postponed  the 
opening  of  the  seventh  seal  in  order  to  make  room  for  more 
detailed  pictures  of  the  judgment  which  he  wished  to  make 
use  of.  This  supposition  is  not,  however,  necessary. 
Chapter  7  serves  a  good  purpose  as  it  stands,  with  its 
confident  and  bright  hopes  set  over  against  the  threaten- 
ing judgment,  between  the  description  of  the  destructive 
powers  and  the  beginning  of  their  activity. 

221 


The  Messages  oj  the 

Although  the  seer  now  beholds  the  vast  multitude  of 
martyred  saints  in  heaven,  yet  we  must  understand  that 
the  vision  concerns  the  future.  No  such  host  of  martyrs 
had  as  yet  fallen  victims  to  Rome,  and  those  who  had 
died  must  await  the  resurrection  (6  :  9  ff.;  20  :  4  f.).  Even 
with  reference  to  the  final  consummation  this  introduction 
of  the  unnumbered  host  of  the  redeemed  directly  into  the 
heavenly  scene  described  in  chapter  4  is  striking.  We 
must  remember  that  in  general  in  the  Jewish  mind  heaven 
was  not  the  future  abode  of  the  righteous  dead,  but  a  new 
earth,  of  heavenly  origin  and  character.1 

4.  The  Salvation  oj  the  Faithful  (7) 
(1)   The  Safety  of  the  Saints  (7  : 1-8) 
Safeguard-       Then  I  saw  that  the  forces  of  destruction  were  to  be 
true°israel     restrained  until  all  true  Christians  should  be  marked  as 
(7:1-8)       belonging  to  God,  that  they  might  be  safe.     This  truth 
came  to  me  in  the  imagery  which  Ezekiel  used,2  and  the 
body  of  true  Christians  seemed  to  me  to  compose  the  true 
and  perfect  Israel  to  whom  the  promises  of  God,  especially 
through  Ezekiel,3  were  made. 

(2)  The  Heavenly  Bliss  of  Martyrs  (7  :  9-17) 
Vision  of  Then  I  saw  a  vast  number,  not  from  the  literal  Israel 

heaven11       only>  Dut  from  au"  nations,  standing  before  God  and  Christ 

1  In  Enoch  40:  1  the  countless  multitudes  whom  the  seer  beholds  in  heaven 
are  angels,  as  in  Rev.  5  :  n  ;  Dan.  7  :  10  ;  Matt.  26 :  53. 

2  Ezek.  9.  3  Ezek.  47  :  13-48  :  35. 

222 


saints  in 

heaven 

(7:9-10) 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

in  heaven,  and  praising  them.    All  angels  joined  in  a  seven-  in  whose 
fold  ascription  of  praise.     One  of  the  twenty-four  angel-  fngdl?jom 
princes  then  told  me  that  the  multitudes  whom  I  beheld  (7  :  II_I2) 
were  the  Christians  who  had  been  faithful  unto  death,  They  arc  the 
martyrs  after  the  example  and  by  the  power  of  Christ ;SoflM" 
and  that  they  now  serve  God  in  his  very  presence   where  Christian 

r   ici  e   #-\i  1    m  '  "     '  martvrs  in 

in  iulnlment  of  Old  Testament  promises   (Isa.   49 :  10 ;  heavenly 
25  :  8),  they  are  without  want  or  sorrow,  under  the  safe  (7T13-17) 
protection  of  God,  with  the  life-giving  leadership  and 
companionship  of  Christ. 

5.  The  Imagery  of  Earthquake  and  Volcano 

Since  the  book -roll  could  contain  nothing  less  than  the  The  sk 
complete  account  of  God's  purposes,  its  contents,  which  Serial 
the  opening  of  the  seventh  seal  must  make  known  and iudgments 
bring  to  effect,  cannot  include  less  than  the  remainder  of 
our  book.     The  opening  of  this  seal  (8  : 1)  is  therefore  not 
the  end  of  the  apocalypse  of  the  seals,  which  is  followed  by 
the  apocalypse  of  the  trumpets.     On  the  contrary,  its  con- 
tents, or  the  contents  of  the  book  now  opened,  begin  to  be 
made  evident  by  the  trumpets.     The  six  trumpets  signify 
the  beginnings  of  evils.     Of  five  of  them  it  is  expressly 
said  that  they  involve  the  destruction  of  but  one-third  of 
nature  or  of  mankind.     They  should  have  produced  re- 
pentance in  the  rest,   but  failed  of  this  purpose.     The 
seventh  trumpet,  it  is  declared,  will  bring  the  final  and 
completed  judgments  of  God  (10 :  7).     Its  contents  must 

223 


The  Messages  of  the 


island,  San 
torin 


therefore  include  all  that  follows  after  n  :  15.  It  is  to  be 
noticed  that  as  the  first  four  seals  are  distinct  from  the 
rest,  so  the  last  three  trumpets  are  separated  from  the 
others,  and  introduced  as  three  "woes." 

The  imagery  of  the  first  four  trumpets  is  volcanic  in 
origin,  and  the  description  can  be  matched  almost  through- 
out by  the  actual  phenomena  of  the  eruptions  of  the  island 
volcano,  Santorin,  about  eighty  miles  southwest  of  Patmos. 
It  is  not  impossible  that  John  may  have  seen  the  smoke 
of  the  eruptions,  and  heard  from  fugitives  how  fiery  blasts 
destroyed  vegetation ;  how  sulphurous  vapors  killed  the 
fish  in  the  sea,  and  blinded  and  killed  men ;  how  masses 
of  molten  rock  fell  into  the  sea;  how  the  waters  were  red- 
dened as  if  by  blood ;  how  islands  rose  and  sank  again.1 
But  apart  from  this  possibility,  volcanic  phenomena  were 
familiar  in  all  that  region.  They  are  frequently  used  in 
such  poetic  or  prophetic  ways  in  the  Old  Testament. 

The  question  how  far  the  writer  expected  the  literal 
earthquake  and  volcano  to  bring  about  these  preparatory 
judgments,  and  how  far  he  used  such  language  in  a  fig- 
urative sense  to  suggest  events  and  forces  of  a  supernatural 
character,  is  hard  to  answer.  The  cities  of  Asia  Minor,  to 
which  he  wrote,  had  several  of  them  been  destroyed  by 
earthquake.  What  more  natural  means, could  be  imagined 
for  the  trial  judgments,  or  even  for  the  final  destruction 

1  See  J.  T.  Bent,  What  St.  John  Saw  in  Patmos.  Nineteenth  Century, 
1888,  pp.  813-21,  and  Fouque,  Santorin  et  ses  eruptions,  1879. 

224 


Was  the 
earthquake 
simply  a 
figure? 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

of  Roman  cities  and  of  Rome  itself?  Yet  a  poetical  use 
of  the  earthquake  is  suggested  by  the  fact  that  it  alternates 
with  invasion  and  war  as  a  means  of  bringing  Roman  rule 
to  an  end.  The  fifth  trumpet  begins  as  a  volcano,  some- 
what supernaturalized,  but  its  eruptions  are  locusts  of 
demoniacal  character  and  powers,  and  these  again  seem  to 
symbolize  armies  of  cavalry.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
sixth  trumpet  begins  with  warriors,  but  the  powers  by 
which  the  horses  kill  men  are  the  volcanic  powers  of  fire 
and  smoke  and  brimstone. 

6.  The  Six  Partial  Judgments  (8-9) 

The  opening  of  the  seventh  seal  was  followed  by  an  The  seventh 
ominous  silence.  Then  seven  angels  1  appear  and  receive  jjvmangefs 
seven  trumpets.     .  (8:1-2) 

Before  the  trumpets  sound  it  was  made  plain  to  me  how  The  efficacy 
the  prayers  of  the  saints  for  vengeance,  offered  to  God  by  payers 
angelic  priestly  mediation,  became  the  cause  of  the  mani-  j£  the  saints 
festation  of  God's  judicial  power  upon  earth. 

At  the  blowing  of  the  first  trumpet  a  fiery  hail,  like  the  The  plague 
seventh  Egyptian  plague  (Ex.  9:  23  f.),  burned  up  one-  IsU-yf^ 
third  of  the  land  with  its  vegetation. 

At  the  second,  a  mass  of  fire  fell  into  the  sea  so  that  one-  The  plague 
third  of  it  became  blood,2  and  a  third  of  the  fish  and  of  the  ^s-qT 
ships  that  were  therein  were  destroyed. 

1  "The  seven  angels"  appear  as  if  well  known,  though  not  seen  in  earlier 
visions,  unless  they  are  the  same  as  the  seven  spirits  of  i  :  4  •,  4:5;   5:6. 

2  Cf.  the  first  Egyptian  plague,  Ex.  7  :  14-21. 

225 


The  Messages  of  the 

The  plague       The  third  trumpet  brought  a  burning  star  from  heaven 
waters  which  poisoned  the  rivers  and  springs  of  fresh  water,  so 

(8  :io-n)     that  men  died  who  drank  of  them. 

The  plague       The  fourth  darkened  a  third  of  the  sun,  moon  and  stars, 
heavenly       and  a  third  of  the  light  of  day  and  of  night  failed.1 
(8^12)  ^n  an§el  declares   that  the   remaining  three  trumpets 

Greater        are  three  woes. 

SetofoU  When  the  fifth  angel  blew  his  trumpet  an  angel-star  fell 
low  (8 :  13)  to  earth  and  opened  the  abyss,  from  which  a  darkening 
from 'the  e  smoke  came  forth,  and  out  of  the  smoke,  locusts  whose 
fodi-i°)ld  Power>  like  that  of  scorpions,  was  used  not  against  vege- 
tation but  against  non-Christian  men,  not  to  kill  them 
but  to  torture  them  for  a  prolonged  period,  until  they  long 
in  vain  for  death.  These  locusts,  like  those  in  Joel's 
prophecy  looked  like  war-horses,  but  they  had  crowns 
on  their  heads,  and  human  faces,  and  women's  hair,  and 
lions'  teeth.2  They  were  clad  in  armor,  and  the  sound  of 
their  coming  was  like  that  of  a  charge.3  It  was  their  tails 
that  had  the  scorpion-like  power  to  torture  men.  In  truth 
these  beings,  who  seemed  to  me  to  combine  the  terrors  of  a 
volcanic  eruption,  a  plague  of  locusts  such  as  Moses  brought 
upon  Egypt  (Ex.  10:  12-15),  and  such  as  Joel  describes 
(1  :  2-2  :  n),  and  an  assault  of  wild  hordes  of  mounted 
warriors,  were  more  than  any  earthly  and  human  plague. 
They  were  demon  powers  of  the  under-world,  ruled  by 

1  Cf.  the  ninth  plague,  Ex.  10  :  21-23.  2  Joel  2  :  4-5  •,  1:6. 

3  Joel  2  :  5. 

226 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

him  who  personifies  that  realm  of  death  and  perdition. 
Such  is  the  first  woe. 

When  the  sixth  trumpet  was  sounded  I  heard  a  voice  The  plague 
from  God's  presence  commanding  the  angel  who  blew  the  °9™e3-2i) 
trumpet  to  loose  the  four  angels  that  were  bound  at  the 
Euphrates,  once  the  land  of  the  Assyrians  and  Baby- 
lonians, now  of  the  dreaded  Parthians,  and  were  destined 
for  this  hour.  These  (wind?)  angels  signified  hostile 
nations,  for  when  they  were  loosed,1  myriads  (200,000,000) 
of  cavalry  appeared,  and  one-third  of  mankind  were 
killed,  not  by  the  arrows  or  swords  of  the  riders,  but  by 
fire  and  smoke  and  brimstone,  volcanic  agencies,  which 
came  from  the  mouths  of  the  horses,  whose  tails  also  have 
power  to  do  injury.2  Yet  the  men  who  were  not  thus 
destroyed  did  not  repent,  but  continued  to  worship  de- 
mons and  idols  and  to  practise  all  manner  of  immorality. 
These  partial  judgments  will  therefore  prove  ineffectual. 

1  Perhaps  an  old  tradition  about  the  loosing  of  the  four  destructive  winds 
is  alluded  to  here,  as  in  7  : 1-3,  and  now  interpreted  of  the  expected  Parthian 
invasion.     Some  such  idea  is  already  present  in  En.  56  :  5-6: 

2  So  that  the  Parthians,  although  a  historical  danger,  take  on  a  demoniac 
character. 


227 


The  Messages  oj  the 


V 

VISIONS   OF   THE    LAST   STAGES   OF   THE    COMING 
JUDGMENT 

i.  The  Prophet's  New  Commission  (10) 

The  sounding  of  the  seventh  trumpet,  which,  like  the 
seventh  seal,  must  contain  all  that  follows,  is  not,  we  may 
safely  say,  deferred  for  the  sake  of  an  unrelated  interlude  or 
excursus,  but  rather  introduced  in  especially  solemn  fash- 
ion by  two  passages,  one  of  which  describes  the  prophet's 
experience  in  receiving  the  remaining  revelations,  and  the 
other  gives  fresh  assurance  of  salvation  to  those  who  keep 
the  faith.  In  the  first  of  these  introductory  passages  it  is 
explained  that  the  writer's  departure  from  the  regular 
scheme  of  seven-fold  visions  was  not  unintentional,  since  he 
was  expressly  forbidden  to  write  the  vision  of  seven  thun- 
ders which  next  appeared  to  him,  and  was  given  instead  a 
new  book  of  prophecies  which  he  was  charged  to  declare, 
the  form  of  its  communication  being  shaped  after  Ezekiel 
2:8-3:3. 
The  angel  I  was  again  upon  earth  and  beheld  an  angel  of  dazzling 
(fo:t?-2)°okami  splendid  appearance,  not  unlike  that  of  Christ  him- 
self (cf.  1  :  15-16),  coming  down  from  heaven  with  a  little 
book  open  in  his  hand.  Colossal  in  size,  he  stood  with  one 
foot  on  the  earth  and  one  on  the  sea,  and  uttered  a  great 

228 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

cry.     I  heard  seven  thunders,  but  was  forbidden  by  a  voice  The  seven 
from   heaven    from   writing   their   contents.     The   angel  (IO :  3_4) 
solemnly  swore  that  the  end  would  be  no  longer  delayed,1  The  angel's 
but  that  the  blowing  of  the  seventh  trumpet  would  bring  °?0 : 5-8) 
the  fulfilment  of  the  predictions  of  the  prophets.     The 
voice  from  heaven  commanded  me  to  take  the  little  book  The  eating 
from  the  angel's  hand.     I  took  it  and  ate  it,  as  he  bade  (10  :g-n) 
me.     I  found  it,  as  Ezekiel  did,2  sweet  at  first  to  receive 
the  words  of  God,  but  as  I  pondered  them  I  found  them 
hard,  for  they  were  words  such  as  Jeremiah  was  called  to 
utter,3  of  denunciation  and  woe  against  many  peoples. 

2.  Jewish  Oracles  and  their  Christian  Use 

In  11 :  1-13  it  is  especially  necessary  to  distinguish  be-  A  Jewish 
tween  the  original  sense  of  the  figures  and  our  writer's  use  about  70 
of  them.     It  is  quite  evident  that  he  has  used  fragments  of  A"  D* 
Jewish  apocalyptical  tradition  in  order  to  express,  by  fig- 
ure, the  Christian  hope.     There  seem  to  be  two  more  or 
less  distinct  fragments  here,  verses  1-2  and  3-13.     The 
former  must  have  been  written  before  70  A.  D.,  by  a  Jew- 
ish seer  who  believed  that  Jerusalem  was  to  fall  into  the 
hands  of  the  Romans,  but  that  the  temple  and  those  who 
took  refuge  in  it  would  escape.     To  our  author,  writing 

xCf.  Dan.  12  :  7.  The  other  rendering  "there  shall  be  time  no  longer' 
might  suggest  the  idea  of  Secrets  of  Enoch  33  :  2  ;  65  :  7-8,  that  there  is  no 
reckoning  of  time  in  the  coming  age.    Cf.  En.  91  :  17. 

2  Ezek.  3  :  3  ;  cf.  Jer.  15  :  16.  3  Jer.  1  :  10. 

229 


The  Messages  oj  the 

long  after  the  fall  of  the  temple,  the  passage  is  a  symboli- 
cal expression  of  the  faith  that  the  true  worshippers  of  God, 
that  is,  Christians,  would  escape  harm  in  the  approaching 
world  judgments.     The  measuring  off  of  the  temple  and 
altar  is  equivalent  to  the  sealing  of  the  144,000  in  7  : 1-8, 
which  is  also  an  originally  Jewish  oracle. 
Fragment  of     The  prophetic  ministry,  the  martyrdom  and  the  resurrec- 
lypse  of        tion  of  the  two  witnesses  (11  :  3-13)  is  another  fragment 
ntlc    st     of  a  Jewish  apocalypse.     It  does  not  seem  to  be  closely 
related  to  11  :  1-2,  for  though  the  length  of  the  ministry  of 
the  witnesses  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  occupation  of 
Jerusalem  by  the  Gentiles,  the  events,  which  culminate  in 
the  destruction  of  one-tenth  of  the  city  by  earthquake  (v. 
13),  do  not  suggest  the  situation  described  in  verse  2.     The 
Jews  expected  the  return  of  Elijah,  on  the  basis  of  Malachi 
v  4  :  5-6,1  and  the  return  of  Moses  might  have  been  hoped 

for  because  of  Deuteronomy  18  :  15,  18,2  and  the  current 
legend  that  he  too  had  not  really  died.3  Indeed  the  com- 
ing and  preaching  of  all  those  who  had  not  tasted  death, 
among  whom  were  Ezra  and  Baruch,  as  well  as  Enoch, 
is  expected  according  to  Second  Esdras  (6  :  26)  and  the 
Apocalypse  of  Baruch  (13  15;  24  :  2  ;   25  :  1). 

Now  early  Christian  apocalyptical  traditions  regarding 
the  Antichrist  relate  how  Enoch  and  Elijah  are  to  come  to 

1  Mk.  6  :  15  ;  8  :  28  ;   o  :  11-13  ;   Matt.  11  :  14  ;  Jn.  1  :  21,  25. 

2  Matt.  21  :  11 ;  Jn.  1  :  21,  25  ',   6  :  14  ;   7  :  40. 

3  See  Deut.  34  :  6,  and  the  title  of  the  book  the  Assumption  of  Moses. 

230 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

expose  the  falsehoods  of  Antichrist,  and  deliver  men  from 
his  wiles.  He  will  slay  them,  but  God  or  his  angels  Mi- 
chael and  Gabriel  will  raise  them  up.1  It  seems  prob- 
able that  we  have  in  Revelation  1 1  a  fragment  of  an  earlier 
Jewish  form  of  this  tradition,  so  that  the  beast  (v.  7)  was 
Antichrist,  and  the  testimony  and  miracle-working  of  the 
witnesses  were  directed  against  him. 

The  common  early  Christian  view  was  that  ''Enoch 
and  Elijah  were  translated,  nor  were  they  found  dead,  but 
their  death  deferred,  though  they  are  reserved  to  die  ;  that 
they  may  extinguish  the  Antichrist  in  their  blood."  2  Why 
it  is  that  here  and  in  the  account  of  the  transfiguration 
Moses  appears  in  the  place  of  Enoch  we  do  not  know,  un- 
less it  be  that  Moses  and  Elijah,  as  the  representatives  of 
Law  and  Prophecy,  more  perfectly  stood  for  the  complete 
testimony  of  Judaism  to  the  truth  of  Christianity. 

The  purpose  of  these  two  fragments  is,  like  that  of  chap-  Practical 

„.     .     .  ,       .,  r  ,1     •    use  of  these 

ter  7,  to  encourage  true  Christians  by  the  promise  ol  their  materials 
deliverance  from  the  coming  evils  if  they  persist  in  their 
faithful  Christian  testimony  even,  if  need  be,  to  death. 

3.  The  Salvation  of  Saints  and  Martyrs  (n  :  1-13) 
a.  The  Safety  of  True  Worshippers  of  God  (11  :  1-2) 

I  saw  in  vision  that  great  as  were  the  evils  which  the 
book  of  prophecy  contained,  true  Christians  would  not  be 

1  Bousset,  The  Antichrist  Legend,  ch.  xiv.  2  Tertullian,  de  Anima. 

231 


The  Messages  oj  the 

Safe-keep-    harmed  by  them.     This  is  the  truth  beneath  the  mistaken 
saints    e      confidence  of  the  Jews  in  the  inviolable  security  of  their 
(ii  :  1-2)      temple,  even  if  the  city  fell  into  heathen  hands  for  the 
short  period  fixed  by  Daniel's  prophecy.1 

b.  The  Work  and  Reward  of  Martyrs  (11  :  3-13) 

The  work  of     I  would  encourage  you  to  faithfulness  even  unto  death 
(11  ^hd)^  by  the  example  of  the  two  well-known  typical  martyrs  of 
current  Jewish  tradition.     During  the  whole  period,  three 
years  and  a  half,  of  the  rule  of  the  heathen  these  two  shall 
prophesy,    in    raiment   typifying   their   sombre   message. 
These  are  the  two  of  whom  Zechariah  wrote,2  who  are  by 
pre-eminence  the  men  of  God.     They  are  kept  from  de- 
struction during  the  time  of  their  ministry  by  a  miraculous 
power  to  repel  danger.     They  are  known,  by  their  exer- 
cise of  the  powers  that  marked  them  of  old,  to  be  Elijah 
Their  death  and   Moses.     After   their   witness   has   been    completely 
christn(7-io)  given  they  are  to  be  killed  by  the  demon  power  of  evil,3 
and  will  lie  unburied  for  the  same  number  of  days  as  the 
years  of  the  reign  of  evil,  in  Jerusalem,  that  city  of  evil 
name,  while  men  of  all  nations  look  at  them  and  laugh, 
Their  resur-  and  congratulate  one  another.     Then  God  will  bring  them 
ascension"     to  life,  to  the  terror  of  men,  and  they  will  ascend  to  heaven 
(n-12)        jn  sight  0f  their  enemies,  while  an  earthquake  destroys 

1  Dan.  7  :  25  ;  12  :  7.  2  Zech.  4  :  2-3,  n-14. 

3  The  Antichrist  seems  to  have  been  a  superhuman  being,  an  agent  of 
Satan,  endowed  with  his  powers. 

232 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

one-tenth  of  the  city  and  seven  thousand  men.     The  rest  Judgment 
in  terror  will  acknowledge  God.     Such  is  the  victory  in  Sicked  city 
the  end  of  the  faithful  witnesses  of  God,  however  great  ^lz) 
the  power  and  temporary  triumph  of  evil  may  be.     Let 
this  give  you  heart  as  I  disclose  to  you  the  last  and  worst 
evils  that  are  about  to  come,  the  bitter  contents  of  the 
little  book. 

4.  A  Heavenly  Song  Anticipating  the  Victory  0}  God 
(11:  14-19) 

In  chapters  12-20  we  have  the  description  of  the  war- 
fare of  Satan,  especially  through  his  chief  agent  the  Ro- 
man empire,  against  the  Christian  community,  and  the 
final  overthrow  of  Rome  and  of  Satan  himself  and  all  his 
forces.  It  is  evident  that  this  whole  section  is  introduced 
by  11  :  14-19,  as  the  seventh  trumpet,  or  the  third  woe. 
The  general  plan  of  these  chapters  is  plain.  The  actors 
are  introduced.  Satan,  the  source  of  all  evil  (12),  and 
his  agent,  Rome,  the  empire  and  the  imperial  cultus  (13). 
The  judgments  upon  Rome  form  the  main  theme  of  chap- 
ters 14-19,  and  the  judgment  upon  Satan  that  of  chapter 
20.  Then  follows  the  consummation  (21-22)  which  was 
anticipated  in  the  prelude  of  the  section  (11  :  15-17). 

The  seventh  angel  blew  his  trumpet,  that  "  last  trump,"  l  JJfcSS 
which  is  to  bring  the  end  (10  :  7).     The  end  is  indeed  so  n?un«  the 

0  * '  victory  of 

sure  and  so  near  that  heavenly  hosts  and  the  twenty-four  God  and 

'  '  Christ 

1  Cf.  1  Thes.  4  :  16  ;  1  Cor.  15  :  52.  (11  :  14-19) 

233 


The  Messages  oj  the 

angel-kings,  leaping  over  the  judgments  by  which  the  end 
is  to  be  brought  about,  break  forth  in  celebration  of  it  as 
of  something  already  accomplished,  as  if  God  and  Christ 
were  already  reigning  over  the  world,  their  enemies  de- 
stroyed and  their  servants  rewarded.  Then  the  heavenly 
temple  was  opened,  and  the  ark,  lost  to  Israel  when  its 
first  temple  fell,1  was  seen  ;  and  as  of  old  the  immediate 
presence  of  God  was  manifested  by  the  phenomena  of 
storm,2  suggesting  that  the  coming  of  God  brings  destruc- 
tion to  all  that  are  opposed  to  him. 

5.  The  Figure  oj  the  Dragon,  the  Woman  and  the  Child 

The  present      The  distinction  between  the  original  meaning  of  the 
^figures  of  figurative  material  here  used,  and  our  writer's  meaning  in 
the  woman    ^ie  use  °^  ^  *s  as  imPortant  as  in  11  :  1-13,  and  much  more 
and  the        difficult.     We  may  suppose  the  writer's  purpose  to  have 
been  something  like  this :  Satan  is  the  real  power  behind 
the  throne  of  Rome,  the  ultimate  source  of  the  present  suf- 
ferings of  Christians  and  peril  to  Christianity.     There  is  a 
reason  for  the  intensity  of  his  present  efforts  against  the 
Christian  community,  a  reason  which  yields  a  hope.     He 
has  already  been  overcome  in  heaven,  his  overthrow  being 
in  some  way  connected  with  the  birth  and  resurrection  of 
Christ.     This  means  that  he  not  only  no  longer  accuses 
men  before  God,  but  that  his  end  is  near.     It  is  because 
he  knows  this  that  he  is  the  more  fierce  in  his  assaults  upon 

1  See  2  Mac.  2  :  1-8  ;  Apoc.  of  Baruch  6  :  7-10.  2  Ex.  19  :  16,  18. 

234 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

Christ's  followers,  but  if  Christians  also  know  it  they  can 
resist  and  endure  his  violence  waiting  with  confidence  for 
his  approaching  overthrow. 

These  thoughts,  preparing  men  both  for  severe  trials  Origin  of 
and  for  endurance  in  view  of  an  assured  and  speedy  de-  tive  material 
liverance,  the  seer  expresses  in  figures  which  he  certainly 
did  not  create  for  the  purpose,  but  borrowed  and  more  or 
less  adapted.  If  we  could  know  where  he  found  them 
and  to  what  extent  he  modified  them,  we  should  be  able 
to  solve  the  problem  which  the  chapter  presents.  The 
Old  Testament  furnishes  but  slight  analogy.  There  were, 
however,  Babylonian  and  Egyptian  and  Greek  sun-myths 
with  which  this  material  quite  certainly  stands  in  some 
relation.  According  to  the  Babylonian  myth,  creation  was 
effected  by  Marduk,  the  god  of  light,  who  conquered  Tia- 
mat,  the  dragon  of  the  waters.  There  is  some  probability 
that  if  we  ever  find  the  account  of  the  birth  of  Marduk  we 
shall  read  a  story  like  that  of  this  chapter  about  the  perse- 
cution of  his  goddess  mother  by  the  dragon,  who  knows 
that  her  child  is  to  be  his  destroyer.  At  all  events  the 
Egyptian  story  of  the  birth  of  Horus,  and  the  Greek  ac- 
count of  the  birth  of  Apollos,  whose  mother  was  persecuted 
by  the  dragon,  Pytho,  seem  more  closely  related  to  this 
imagery  than  anything  in  Jewish  traditions.  The  mother 
is  a  goddess  (12  :  i),1  the  dragon  is  a  water  monster  (12  :  15), 

1  The  sun,  moon,  and  twelve  constellations  of  the  zodiac  were  the  supreme 
heavenly  beings,  according  to  Babylonian  tradition. 

235 


The  Messages  oj  the 

from  whom  escape  is  found  in  the  wilderness,  and  the  whole 
picture  has  a  cosmic  range  and  an  unmistakably  mytho- 
logical background.   In  the  sun-myth,  however,  the  dragon 
tries  to  kill  the  mother  before  the  child's  birth,  and  she 
flees  in  order  to  rescue  her  child.     Changes  have  been 
freely  made  in  the  story  to  adapt  it  to  Christian  use,  and 
it  is  not  improbable  that  it  was  shaped  by  a  Jewish  hand 
first.     We  can  be  quite  sure  that  we  see  here  traditional 
materials  that  have  gone  through  various  modifications 
even  though  we  cannot  retrace  the  process  with  confi- 
dence. 
A  possible        Let  me  give  a  possible  history  of  the  material,  which 
the  growth    may  illustrate  the  nature  of  the  process  even  though  it  does 
terlaf  ma      not  exactly  restore  it.     There  was  first  in  Babylonia,  and 
j  more  or  less  independently  elsewhere,  a  myth  of  creation, 

mythological  which  told  of  the  aggressive  power  of  the  dragon  of  chaos 
against  the  older  gods,  of  the  birth  of  the  sun -god,  who 
is  rescued  by  his  mother's  flight  from  the  assaults  of  the 
dragon,  and  who,  when  he  grows  to  maturity,  overcomes 
and  binds,  or  destroys  the  dragon,  and  cutting  him  in  two, 
makes  of  his  parts  heaven  and  earth.  This  story  is  built 
up  out  of  the  partial  creation  which  is  effected  each  year 
in  a  region  like  Babylonia,  when  the  sun,  born  in  the  winter 
solstice  almost  overwhelmed  by  the  darkness  and  cold, 
finally  attains  strength  to  dispel  the  clouds  and  dry  up  the 
floods  and  bring  forth  order  and  beauty  and  life. 
Then   perhaps   the    Babylonians,    certainly   the   Jews, 

236 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

made  of  this  picture  of  creation,  a  picture  of  the  new  crea-  its  Jewish 
tion  for  which  they  hoped.  God  would  make  the  last  devel°Pment 
things  like  the  first.1  The  dragon  represents  the  power 
of  evil  not  now  in  nature,  but  in  history  ;  the  ruling  king- 
doms under  whom  Israel  suffers,  and  whose  dominance, 
which  is  really  that  of  Satan,  stands  in  the  way  of  the 
Messianic  age,  the  age  of  Israel's  rule,  which  is  the  rule  of 
God.  The  divine  conqueror  of  this  evil  ruler  of  the  world 
could  be  regarded  by  Jews  as  Michael,  the  angelic  repre- 
sentative and  champion  of  the  nation,  or  as  the  Messiah ; 
or  both  could  have  part  in  the  victory,  Michael  over- 
coming the  spirit  power  of  evil  in  heaven,  and  Messiah 
the  earthly  kingdom  in  which  Satan's  power  was  em- 
bodied. The  birth  and  rescue  of  the  Messiah  could  mark 
the  time  when  Michael  must  make  war  against  the  dragon 
and  cast  him  out  of  heaven  ;  while  the  Messiah  grown  to 
manhood  could  be  the  conqueror  of  the  world  kingdom. 
The  traditional  element  of  the  persecution  of  the  woman 
could  easily  be  applied  to  the  sufferings  of  the  nation  Israel, 
the  mother  of  the  Messiah,2  while  waiting  for  his  return 
from  heaven  where  he  is  hidden,  so  that  her  flight  was  now 
made  to  follow  the  birth  of  her  son.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  description  of  the  woman  as  a  goddess  could  be  re- 
tained for  its  appeal  to  the  imagination^  and  the  more  eas- 
ily because  the  twelve  stars,  originally  perhaps  the  twelve 

1  Barnabas  6  :  18. 

2  Compare  2  Esd.  9  :  38-10  :  59. 

237 


The  Messages  oj  the 

constellations  of  the  zodiac,  fitted  Israel  with  its  twelve 
tribes,  and  are  so  used  in  Genesis  37:9,  10. 
The  present  If  Jewish  writing  or  tradition  had  made  some  such  use 
forratian  of  the  figure,  perhaps  finally  in  connection  with  the  Roman 
wars  (about  70  A.  D.),  the  later  Christian  writer  could 
adapt  it  to  his  purpose  with  little  change.  It  might  be  due 
to  him  rather  than  to  the  Jew  that  the  casting  of  Satan 
out  of  heaven  follows  the  birth  of  the  Messiah  ;  for  Chris- 
tians gave  such  significance  for  the  overthrow  of  angelic 
powers  of  evil  to  Christ,1  and  there  is  some  evidence  that 
our  author  changed  the  order  of  material  in  his  sources. 
It  is  quite  evident  that  verses  13-16  were  originally  a  vari- 
ant form  of  verse  6  ;  and  it  seems  hardly  possible  that  our 
author  himself  intended  to  describe  two  flights  to  the  same 
place  for  the  same  length  of  time.  Again,  verses  7-9  seem 
to  give  a  fuller  account  of  verse  4.  In  this  case  we  may 
suppose  that  the  Christian  writer  wished  to  put  the  actual 
expulsion  of  Satan  from  heaven  after  the  birth  and  ascen- 
sion of  Christ,  as  in  some  way  due  to  him.  But  perhaps 
he  put  together  two  accounts  of  the  dragon's  assault  upon 
the  woman  without  adjusting  them,  because  each  con- 
tained elements  that  he  found  useful  ;  the  first,  the  birth 
of  the  divine-human  king  and  saviour,  the  second,  heaven's 
riddance  of  Satan's  presence,  and  the  significance  of  this 
for  man,  now  and  hereafter — greater  tribulation  now,  surer 
deliverance  hereafter. 

1  Cf.  Jn.  12:31;  14  :  30  ;  16  :  11-33  ",  1  Jn.  3  : 8 ;  Col.  2  :  15. 
238 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

Originally  we  must  suppose  a  story  without  the  present  Relation  of 
repetitions,  and  the  confusion  of  heavenly  and  earthly  anVchris- 
scenes  (vv.  1-6).  For  example,  in  the  original  Jewish tian  versions 
form  it  may  be  that  we  should  read  first  of  the  wars  in 
heaven,  in  which  the  dragon  is  cast  down  to  earth  and  in 
his  fall  draws  one-third  of  the  angel  host  with  him  ; 1  then 
of  his  wars  on  earth  with  the  woman  who  bears  the  son,  in 
which  the  child  is  rescued  and  taken  to  heaven  and  the 
mother  flees  and  escapes,  while  the  dragon  returns  to  make 
war  with  the  remainder  of  her  seed.2  It  might  have  been 
the  Christian  writer  who  wished  to  give  an  earlier  and 
higher  part  in  the  drama  to  the  Messiah,  and  so  puts  his 
birth  before  the  dragon's  overthrow  in  heaven.  But  it  is 
verse  n  that  reveals  the  meaning  of  the  whole  figure  to  our 
writer.  The  victory  of  Christian  faith  over  the  persecu- 
tions of  the  evil  kingdom,  even  over  martyrdom,  is  the 
literal  fact  which  Michael's  conquest  of  the  dragon  and  the 
escape  of  child  and  mother  symbolize. 

The  writer  then  used  such  traditional  materials,  of 
heathen  parentage  and  perhaps  of  Jewish  adoption,  in 
the  same  free  and  more  or  less  poetic  way  as  that  in  which 
he  used  Old  Testament  figures  in  chapters  i,  4,  5,  etc., 
for  the  expression  of  his  one  message  of  patience  and  cour- 
age in  Christian  faith  and  confession  amid  present  and 
greater  coming  persecutions  from  Rome.  It  is  evident, 
therefore,  how  mistaken  is  the  effort  to  find  a  Christian 
1  Vv.  3,  7-0,  4a.  2  Vv.  1  ( ?),  2,  4b-6=  13-17. 

239 


The  Messages  oj  the 

meaning  in  all  the  details  of  the  figure,  and  to  go  into  any 
other  time  than  the  writer's  present  in  search  for  the  events 
to  which  the  figures  refer.1 

We  do  not  know  enough  to  affirm  that  this  traditional 
material  went  through  just  the  process  of  growth  we  have 
described,  but  we  do  know  enough  to  say  that  the  material 
was  in  part  traditional,  and  that  the  explanation  of  such 
details  as  do  not  apply  to  the  writer's  present  is  to  be 
looked  for  in  the  traditions  that  lay  behind  him,  not  in 
the  events  that  lay  before  him,  in  succeeding  history.  In 
many  cases  we  may  safely  suppose  that  he  left  the  tra 
ditional  features  as  he  found  them,  not  because  he  had 
a  clear  view  of  their  meaning,  or  a  definite  application  of 
them  to  the  present  situation,  but  because  they  belonged 
to  the  story  for  which  as  a  whole  he  had  a  use,  or  because 
they  appealed  to  his  feelings  as  poetically  or  rhetorically 
impressive. 
The  escape  Although  we  know  the  general  meaning  of  the  chapter 
woman,  and to  our  writer  and  do  not  feel  obliged  to  find  his  purpose  in 
of  her  "eed  a^  *ts  details,  Yet  ^  would  seem  as  if  he  must  have  had  a 
purpose  in  the  concluding  verses  where  he  describes  the 
escape  of  the  woman  from  the  dragon,  and  his  turning 
against  "the  rest  of  her  seed,"  that  is,  faithful  Christians. 
The  question  might  be  asked  whether  the  woman  who 

1  See  Gunkel's  Schdpfung  und  Chaos  (1895),  and  Wellhausen's  Skizzen 
und  Vorarbeiten,  vi.,  pp.  215  ft".  On  these  two  discussions  the  views  given 
above  are  largely  based. 

240 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

escapes  is  the  true  Israel,  that  is,  the  original  Jewish- 
Christian  church,  which  escaped  destruction  in  the  fall  of 
Jerusalem  (70  A.  D.)  by  timely  flight,  while  the  rest  of 
her  seed  are  the  Christian  churches  of  the  dispersion  who 
are  still  suffering  persecution.  Perhaps  it  is  enough  to 
say  that  the  escape  of  the  woman  to  her  place  in  the  wil- 
derness was  given  in  the  original  myth,  and  had  already 
been  interpreted  by  Jews  as  meaning  the  escape,  when 
Jerusalem  fell,  of  the  remnant  which  became  the  kernel 
of  the  new  Judaism.  Then  verse  17  may  describe  either 
the  fury  of  Rome  against  the  Jews  who  remained  in  Jeru- 
salem, or  it  may  have  been  added  by  the  Christian  reviser, 
to  refer  to  the  present  persecutions  of  Christians,  from 
which  escape  was  still  future.  In  this  case  it  is  not  im- 
possible that  just  as  Messiah's  escape  from  the  dragon 
was  not  deliverance  from  death,  not  the  rescue  from  Herod's 
plots  by  flight  into  Egypt,  but  an  escape  through  death 
and  resurrection  to  heaven  (v.  5  f.),  so  the  escape  of  the 
woman  to  the  place  where  she  is  to  be  cared  for  till  the 
time  of  evil  ends  may  have  been  taken  by  our  Christian 
writer  as  the  escape  of  the  older  generation  of  Christians 
by  death  from  the  present  final  rage  of  Satan. 

6.    The  Ultimate  Power  of  Evil,  Satan  (12) 

A  portent  appeared  in  the  sky,  a  woman  in  appearance 
like  a  goddess,  queen  of  heaven.  She  cried  out  in  the 
pains  of  childbirth.     Another  portent  appeared,  a  great 

241 


The  Messages  o)  the 

Satan's  vain  red  dragon  bearing  the  marks  of  world  rulership.     In  his 

against* the    fall  from  heaven  one-third  of  the  heavenly  host  were  in- 

^hncHi1-^)    v°lved-1     He  stood  ready  to  destroy  the  woman's  child, 

who,  he  knew,  was  destined  to  dispossess  him  in  the  rule 

of  the  world.     But  the  Messianic  child  was  snatched  up  to 

God's  throne  and  the  woman  escaped  into  the  wilderness 

for  the  three  and  a  half  years  of  the  dragon's  remaining 

rule.2 

Satan's  ex-        Here  are  more  details  in  regard  to  these  events.     The 

heaven  r°m  fall  of  the  dragon  from  heaven  3  was  the  result  of  a  war 

(7-12)  jn  -whjch  he  and  his  angels  assailed  the  throne  of  God  and 

were  repulsed  by  the  angelic  hosts  under  Michael,  and 

cast  down  to  earth.     I  heard  a  heavenly  voice  celebrating 

this  victory  and  rejoicing  that  heaven  was  rid  of  the  great 

accuser,   who  had  always  accused  the  righteous  before 

God,  as  he  was  the  first  tempter  and  the  constant  deceiver 

of  man.     Yet  Christian  martyrs  had  overcome  him  by 

Christ's  death  and  their  own.4     But  that  which  is  heaven's 

deliverance  is  earth's  sorrow,  for  the  devil  will  be  the  more 

fierce  in  his  assaults  upon  men,  knowing  that  his  end  is 

near. 

1  There  is  an  allusion  here  to  Dan.  8  :  10,  but  there  the  reference  is  to  the 
efforts  of  Antiochus  to  put  an  end  to  various  native  religions.  Here  the 
language  has  the  mythological,  which  must  be  the  older,  meaning  of  a  literal 
fall  of  angels. 

2  As  in  11  :  2-3.  3  Referred  to  in  v.  4. 

4  This  verse  (11)  is  evidently  an  insertion  applying  the  old  mythological 
figures  to  the  present  situation,  the  persecution  of  Christians  by  Rome. 

242 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

This  was  the  reason  for  the  dragon's  fury  against  the  The  perse- 
woman.     Her  flight  to  the  wilderness  was  supernaturally  Jhosewho 
speeded.     The  attacks  of  the  dragon  also  were  miracu-  ^j°-n? to 
lously  averted.     There  she  is  safe  for  the  three  and  a  half  (13-17) 
times  (years)  of  the  dragon's  power,  and  he  can  only  turn 
against  her  other  children,  those  faithful  Christians  who 
are  still  for  a  short  time  exposed  to  persecution. 

7.    The  King  and  the  Priest  in  the  Realm  of  Evil 

In  the  12th  chapter  Satan  is  introduced  and  the  explana-  Meaning  of 
tion  of  his  present  power  given,  with  the  assurance  of  his  beasts° 
speedy  overthrow.  Over  against  him  is  set  the  child  who 
is  destined  to  rule  over  the  world  in  his  place.  In  chapter 
13  it  is  made  evident  that  Rome  is  the  agent  through  whom 
Satan  now  rules  the  world,  and  that  the  imperial  cultus, 
the  worship  of  the  emperor,  is  the  means  by  which  that 
rule  is  made  oppressive  and  offensive.  Rome  stands  in 
the  same  relation  to  Satan  as  that  in  which  the  Christian 
community  stands  to  Christ.  The  devil  has  given  to 
Rome  his  authority  over  the  world,  as  Christ  will  give  his 
authority  to  his  faithful  followers.1 

The  difficulty  of  interpreting  the  figures  of  the  two  beasts  Origin  of 
arises  from  uncertainty  as  to  the  extent  of  the  Christian  li0endtoP  °a" 
writer's  inventive  originality.     In  his  use  of  the  figures  Rome 
they  certainly  signify  the  Roman  empire  and  the  imperial 
cultus.     But  various  features  in  the  description  were  fixed 

1  2  :  26-27  >  cf.  1  :  6 ;  5  :  10 ;  20  :  4-6. 
243 


The  Messages  oj  the 

in  a  tradition  which  goes  back  at  least  to  Daniel,  where 
the  four  beasts,  here  reunited,  were  shaped  to  represent 
the  four  kingdoms  of  Chaldea,  Medea,  Persia,  and  Greece. 
Further,  it  is  not  unlikely  that  some  Jewish  writer  had 
already  applied  the  figure  of  the  beast  to  Rome.  The 
suggestion  has  been  made,  and  is  not  without  a  measure  of 
probability,  that  this  was  done  in  30-40  A.  D.,  when  Calig- 
ula attempted  to  have  his  statue  erected  in  the  temple  at 
Jerusalem,  in  revenge  for  the  act  of  the  Jews  in  destroying 
an  altar  to  the  emperor  set  up  by  the  inhabitants  of  Jamnia. 
The  wounding  and  healing  of  the  head  could  then  have 
referred  to  the  serious  illness,  near  the  beginning  of  his 
reign,  from  which  Caligula  recovered  ;  and  the  original 
number  in  verse  18  could  have  been  616, '  which  is  the 
numerical  value  in  Greek  of  Caligula's  name,  Gaius  Caesar. 
Yet  it  must  be  said  that  the  efforts  of  the  provincial 
government,  though  a  powerful  priesthood,  to  enforce  the 
worship  of  the  emperors  in  Asia  Minor,  to  which  the  chap- 
ter now  unmistakably  refers,  could  very  well  have  been 
the  original  cause  of  this  peculiar  development  of  the  an- 
cient figure  of  the  evil  beast  of  the  sea. 
The  wound-  But  although  some  features  in  the  description  of  the 
first  beast,  especially  verses  4-8,  and  the  character  and 
role  of  the  second  beast  could  have  been  shaped  to  de- 
scribe the  conditions  that  met  the  Christian  communities 
of  Asia  Minor,  the  smiting  of  one  of  the  seven  heads  would 

1  See  Revised  Version,  margin. 
244    " 


ed  head 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

seem  to  refer  to  some  notable  event  in  the  history  of  Rome 
itself.  It  would  be  most  fully  accounted  for  if  the  death 
of  one  of  the  emperors  by  the  sword  (v.  14)  had  endan- 
gered the  existence  of  the  empire  itself  (cf.  vv.  12,  14), 
especially  if  this  stroke  had  fallen  in  an  assault  against  the 
empire  from  without  (see  v.  4,  end).  The  death  of  Julius 
Caesar  would  satisfy  most  of  these  requirements.  The 
first  verses  of  the  chapter  need  not  refer  to  events  of  the 
writer's  own  time,  but  may  rather  be  meant  to  describe  the 
rise  and  character  of  the  Roman  Empire.  A  reference  to  so 
well  known  and  significant  an  event  as  Caesar's  death,  from 
the  shock  of  which  the  empire  rose  to  new  strength,  would 
serve  admirably  to  identify  the  beast  as  Rome,1  and  to  en- 
hance wonder  at  its  power.2  Perhaps  this  characteristic 
of  Rome  that  it  had,  as  it  were,  been  killed  and  come  to  new 
life  and  greater  power  is  emphasized  and  repeated  (vv.  12, 
14)  because  it  was  analogous  to  the  characteristic  of  Christ. 

The  verse  is  more  commonly  referred  to  the  death  of  Is  Nero  re- 
Nero,  which  was  a  violent  death  by  suicide,  and  which  erre    ° 
ended  the  Julian  dynasty  and  left  the  empire  to  a  danger- 
ous period  of  anarchy,  from  which,  however,  it  recovered.3 

1  "  The  founding  of  the  empire  after  the  death  of  the  first  emperor  is  char- 
acteristic of  Rome  "  (Gunkel,  Schopjung  und  Chaos,  p.  355). 

2  It  is  even  possible  that  in  a  Hebrew  original  the  phrase  "  One  of  his 
heads"  signified  "the  first  of  his  heads."  Cffisar  was  sometimes  reckoned 
the  first  emperor  {e.g.,  2  Esdr.  11 :  12  f. ;  12 :  14  f.). 

3  Some  think  that  the  recovery  is  still  future,  and  refers  to  the  expected  re- 
turn of  Nero  to  hfe.     This  would  best  account  for  the  il4  years  during  which 

245 


ber  666 


The  Messages  oj  the 

The  verse  does  not,  however,  refer  so  naturally  to  Nero, 
and  this  interpretation  would  hardly  have  been  urged  if 
it  had  not  been  for  other  evidence  that  in  the  view  of  the 
writer  or  of  his  sources  Nero  is  the  embodiment  ot  Rome's 
The  num-  evil  power.  Such  evidence  has  been  found  by  many 
in  the  number  666  (v.  18),  which  is  the  numerical  value 
of  the  Hebrew  letters  of  Nero  Caesar.1  There  are  some 
objections  to  this  current  interpretation  of  the  number. 
It  requires  an  unusual  spelling  of  the  word  Caesar.  The 
usual  spelling  would  yield  676.  And  it  would  seem  more 
probable  that  the  solution  of  the  enigma  was  to  be  found 
in  Greek  rather  than  in  Hebrew.  Again,  666  is  the  num- 
ber of  the  beast,  not  of  one  of  its  horns  or  heads,  and  the 
words  "it  is  the  number  of  a  man"  need  not  mean  that 
the  number  signifies  a  man's  name,  but  may  mean,  like 
the  similar  phrase  in  21  :  17,  that  the  number  is  to  be 
reckoned  in  the  usual  human  way.  Accordingly,  a  very 
old  solution,  as  old  as  Irenaeus,  though  he  does  not  adopt 
it,  is  the  Greek  word  for  "Latin,"  which,  however,  has 
to  be  written  in  an  unusual  if  not  wholly  unused  form 
(Lateinos,  instead  of  Latinos).  Better  than  this  is  a  very 
recent  suggestion  by  Professor  Clemen  of  Halle,  namely, 

the  healed  beast  is  to  rule  (v.  5),  which  is  the  set  time  of  the  rule  of  Antichrist ; 
but  it  does  not  so  well  fit  vv.  3-4,  and  the  rest  of  the  chapter. 

1  In  Hebrew  and  in  Greek  the  only  numerals  were  the  letters  of  the  alpha- 
bet. Hence  every  word  had  a  numerical  value.  It  should  be  added  that  in 
a  Latinized  spelling  the  Hebrew  of  Nero  Caesar  yields  the  number  616,  which 
is  found  in  some  manuscripts. 

246 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

The  Latin  kingdom  {he  latine  basileia).  It  happens  that 
"The  Italian  kingdom  "  gives  the  alternate  reading,  616.  It 
seems  probable  that  these  phrases  could  have  been  used  in 
an  apocalypse  for  the  Roman  empire.  It  has  been  argued, 
however,  that  the  number  must  have  been  ancient  in 
order  to  have  the  mysterious  value  our  writer  attributes  to 
it.  It  should  be  the  number  of  the  ancient  chaos  dragon, 
and  in  fact  a  Hebrew  phrase  meaning  "the  chaos  of  old" 
yields  the  number  666  (Gunkel).  Finally,  the  interesting 
suggestion  has  been  made  that  the  significance  of  the 
number  to  our  writer  lay  in  his  discovery  that  the  ancient 
number  of  the  beast  is  also  "the  number  of  a  man,"  for 
example,  that  it  means  not  only  "the  chaos  of  old,"  but 
also  Nero  Caesar.  The  man  who  bears  the  number  has 
appeared.  He  is  to  be  known  as  the  last  foe  of  God  and 
the  saints  by  the  number  of  his  name  ;  and  his  appearance 
with  this  mark  of  identification,  is  evidence  that  the  end  is 
at  hand.1 

Though  the  last  suggestion  is  not  an  improbable  one, 
yet  it  need  not  be  doubted  that  in  part  the  significance 
of  the  number  lay  in  itself.  This  is  not  inconsistent 
with  the  views  just  presented.  A  name  for  the  power 
of  evil  would  be  sought  that  would  yield  a  number 
of  symmetry  and  ideal  significance.  Three  sixes  might 
suggest  a  persistent  failure  to  reach  the  perfect  number, 
seven,  as  the  three  eights  which  are  the  numerical  value 

1  P.  Corssen. 
247 


The  Messages  oj  the 

of  the  Greek  name,  Jesus,  suggested  his  surpassing  per- 
fection.1 

Whatever  we  may  now  guess  as  to  the  number  we  may 
rest  assured  that  it  is  the  past  and  not  the  future  that  hides 
the  mystery  of  its  meaning. 
The  mark  of  Another  much  disputed  matter  is  the  mark  of  the  beast 
which  must  be  put  on  the  hand  or  forehead  of  everyone  as  a 
condition  of  buying  and  selling,  that  is  of  taking  part  in  the 
necessary  business  of  life.  Commercial  papers  (papyri)  of 
this  period  have  recently  been  discovered  which  are  attested 
by  an  imperial  stamp,  and  it  has  been  suggested  that  the 
use  of  this  stamp  seemed  to  our  writer  idolatrous,  and  that 
by  a  bold  figure  he  declared  that  those  who  made  use  of  it 
received,  as  it  were,  the  stamp  of  Rome  on  their  very  per- 
sons.2 Perhaps,  however,  the  writer  is  not  here  describing 
things  as  they  are,  but  is,  from  verse  15  on,  predicting  more 
terrible  and  diabolical  doings  of  the  Roman  government 
than  he  has  yet  actually  experienced,  especially  the  actual 
giving  of  life  to  the  images  of  the  emperors,  and  compelling 
everyone  literally  to  have  the  name  of  the  emperor  branded 
on  his  forehead  or  hand,  as  the  name  of  the  master  was 
branded  on  the  slave.  This  compulsory  stigmatization  was 
expected,  it  is  said,  because  of  the  growing  passion  and 
enthusiasm  of  the  populace  for  the  imperial  cultus.3 

1  Irenaeus,  v.  28,  2,  says  that  the  six  hundreds,  six  tens  and  six  units  signify 
a  summing  up  of  all  the  apostasy  of  the  six  thousand  years  of  world  history. 

2  See  Deissmann's  Bible  Studies,  pp.  241  ff. 

3  J.  Weiss,  Die  Ofjenbarung  des  Johannes,  pp.  15  ff. 

248 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

8.  The  Agents  of  Satan,  the  Roman  Empire  and 
Cultus  (13) 

As  the  dragon  l  stood  by  the  sea-shore,  I  saw  a  beast  come  Rome  Uid 
up  out  of  the  sea,  who  had  the  same  marks  of  world  ruler-  authority0 
ship  as  the  dragon  himself.     It  was  the  symbol,  or  the^1-2^ 
demoniacal  representative,  or  counterpart  of  the  Roman 
empire,  the  names  of  whose  rulers,   since  they  demand 
worship,  are  blasphemous  names.     It  united  in  its  powers 
and  in  its  appearance  the  features  of  the  four  beasts  of 
Daniel's  vision,  and  was  terrible  as  those  four  empires  com- 
bined.    It  received  world  rulership  from  him  who  really 
possesses  it,  the  dragon,  Satan.     One  of  the  seven  heads  The  healing 
seemed  to  be  slain,  but  the  stroke  was  healed,  and  the  beast  wound,  andS 
had  greater  power  than  before.     All  men  were  amazed,  po^^as. 
and  worshipped  both  Satan,  who  gave  Rome  its  power,  phemies  and 

........  persecutions 

and  Rome  itself,  declaring  it  invincible.  It  made  arrogant  (3-10) 
and  blasphemous  claims  for  itself,  like  those  which  Daniel 
(7  :  8,  n,  20  ;  11  :  36)  describes.  It  is,  in  fact,  in  fulfilment 
of  Daniel's  prediction  (7  :  25),  destined  to  possess  power 
for  the  predetermined  period  of  the  rule  of  evil,  three 
years  and  one-half.  It  blasphemed  God  and  heavenly 
things.2  This  is  the  nation  that  persecutes  Christians3 
and  rules  all  peoples,  and  is  worshipped  by  all  except 

1  Not  improbably  the  reading  "  and  I  stood  by  the  sea-shore  "  is  correct. 

2  Dan.  8:  10-12,  25;  11:36,  37. 

3  Dan.  7:21.  Notice  the  large  use  of  Dan.  7.  It  is  evident  that  by  our 
writer,  as  by  the  writer  of  2  Esdras  (12 :  10  ff.),  the  fourth  beast  of  Daniel  was 
identified  with  Rome. 

249 


The  Messages  oj  the 

Christians.     Attend  to  this,  my  readers.     Be  encouraged 

in  your  resistance  against  the  demands  of  this  nefarious 

cultus  by  remembering  the  principle  that  those  who  use 

violence  against  others  shall  suffer  the  same  themselves.1 

Rome  will  suffer  all  the  woes  she  inflicts,  and  your  part  is 

not  violent  resistance,  but  believing  patience. 

The  im-  I  saw  another  beast,  a  beast  of  the  land,  not  the  sea, 

tPusnaits°de-    with  two  horns  like  a  lamb,2  but  its  speech  betrayed  its 

£5 J  jJUdop-  relationship  not  to  Christ  but  to  the  dragon.     It  was  an 

pressions      authoritative  agent  of  the  first  beast,  Rome,  and  had  the 
(n-17)  °  7  ' 

task  of  enforcing  and  extending  the  imperial  cultus.3     This 

it  did  by  delusive  miracles,4  by  calling  down  fire  from 
heaven,  and  by  giving  to  the  image  of  the  emperor  the 
appearance  of  life.  It  enforced  the  worship  of  this  image 
on  penalty  of  death,5  and  compelled  all  men  of  every  rank 
to  accept  it  as  a  condition  of  taking  part  in  the  ordinary 
business  of  life,  and  so  as  a  condition  of  life  itself. 

If  you  would  know  who  this  beast  is  whom  I  have  de- 
scribed, I  will  give  you  the  number  of  the  name,  666. 6 

1  See  Gen.  9:6;  Jer.  15:2;  Matt.  26:52.  2  Cf .  Dan.  8:3. 

3  The  priesthood  of  the  imperial  cultus.    Called  the  false  prophet  in  16: 13 ; 
19: 20  ;  20:  10. 

4  Such  as  were  expected  from  false  prophets  and  antichrists  (Matt.  24:24). 

5  As  in  Dan.  3:  5-7,  15. 

6  Or,  I  would  ask  you  to  look  for  a  man's  name  which  has  the  number 
which  you  must  recognize  as  that  of  the  power  of  evil,  666. 


25O 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

9.  The  Opposing  Host.      Christ  and  the  Undented 
(14 :  1-5) 

The  heavenly  vision  of  Christ  and  the  company  of  his 
followers  (14 :  1-5)  is  a  prophecy  and  anticipation  of  the 
future — perhaps  of  that  reigning  of  the  martyrs  with  Christ 
of  which  20 :  4-6  tells — rather  than  a  disclosure  of  the 
condition  of  Christians  who  have  already  died.  The  num- 
ber is  given  with  no  direct  allusion  to  the  144,000  of  7  :  1-8. 
If  literal  celibacy  were  originally  meant  in  verse  4,  then 
our  author  must  here  have  made  use  of  traditions  coming 
from  an  ascetic  sect  of  Jews  (Essenes  ?)  or  Christians  ; 
for  there  is  no  sufficient  evidence  that  celibacy  belonged 
to  our  author's  ideal,  or  is  added  to  martyrdom  as  a 
second  condition  of  attaining  the  highest  reward  of  the 
future. 

Then  in  contrast  to  the  Satanic  power,  and  the  multi-  Christ  and 
tudes  of  men  who  belonged  to  it,  I  had  a  vision  of  Christ,  filed"1  e 
in  the  heavenly  Zion,  with  the  completed  number  of  those  ^I4:  r~5^ 
who  were  marked  as  belonging,  not  to  the  beast,  but  to  him 
and  to  God,  his  Father.     And  I  heard  a  sound  both  mighty 
and  musical.     It  was  the  new  song  which  these  redeemed . 
ones  sing  before  God's  presence,  and  which  none  but  these 
could  learn.     They  are  those  who  kept  themselves  from 
all  defiling  contact  with  the  world.     They  will  be  ever  with 
Christ  who  redeemed  them. 


251 


The  Messages  oj  the 

10.  Last  Warnings  (14  :  6-20) 

A  succession  of  brief  summary  and  anticipatory  visions 
follows  (vv.  6-13),  which  seems  to  be  inserted  here,  be- 
tween the  actors  and  the  action  of  the  drama,  in  order  to 
encourage  the  faithful  and  warn  those  who  are  still  in- 
different. The  teaching  of  the  whole  apocalypse  is  here 
summed  up.  Then  follow  two  pictures  of  the  world 
judgment,  one  as  the  harvest  of  grain,  the  other  as  the 
gathering  and  pressing  of  grapes.  The  first  reaper  is  de- 
scribed as  the  one  like  a  son  of  man  sitting  on  a  cloud,  with 
unmistakable  reference  to  Daniel  7  :  13.  Yet  the  context 
seems  to  call  for  an  angel  rather  than  the  Messiah  here, 
for  "another  angel"  summons  him  to  his  task,  and  the 
second  reaper  is  still  "another  angel."  It  is  difficult  to 
believe  that  our  author  intended  to  represent  Christ  as 
directed  by  one  angel  as  to  the  time  of  his  coming  for  judg- 
ment, and  as  followed  by  another  angel  whose  judicial  act 
seems  more  important  and  final  than  his  own.  It  will  not 
do  to  say  that  Christ  comes  first  and  harvests  the  good,  and 
an  angel  of  destruction  executes  God's  wrath  on  the  wicked. 
It  is  Christ  who  is  to  tread  the  wine-press  of  the  wrath  of 
God  (19 :  15).  It  is  simpler  to  take  the  one  like  a  son  of 
man  to  be  an  angel,  in  accordance  with  what  we  have  re- 
garded as  its  original  meaning.  It  is  true  that  the  imagery 
of  Daniel  7  :  13  is  used  in  a  description  of  Christ  in  Reve- 
lation 1 :  13,  yet  it  is  not  used  by  itself ,  but  only  in  con- 

252 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

nection  with  the  description  of  God  (Dan.  7 :  9)  and  that 
of  the  angel,  Gabriel  (Dan.  10 :  6)  ;  hence  we  cannot 
infer  that  our  author  regarded  Daniel's  "son  of  man"  as 
Messiah.  Anticipations  belong  to  our  author's  manner, 
and  it  would  not  be  contrary  to  his  custom  if  he  should  use 
two  different  figures  to  describe,  not  successive  events,  but 
one  event  in  two  aspects,  or  for  the  sake  of  richer  and  more 
impressive  poetical  expression.  The  second  description 
(w.  17-20)  is  hardly  more  than  an  expansion  of  Joel  3  :  13. 

I  saw  an  angel  proclaiming  to  all  men  the  gospel  of  the  The  eternal 
worship  of  the  one  God,  the  creator,  in  view  of  his  ap-  f^^) 
proaching  judgment. 

A  second  angel  announced  (as  if  it  were  already  accom-  Fall  of 
plished)  the  fall  of  Babylon  (Rome)  for  its  sins  against  Rome°n" 
mankind.  (14:8) 

A  third  angel  declared  that  those  who  yield  to  the  wor-  Penalty  of 
ship  of  Rome  shall  share  the  eternal  torment  that  awaits  LSpuhe 
it.     This  should  encourage  Christians  in  their  patience  and  ilX?al 
fidelity  (14:9-12) 

A  voice  from  heaven  assured  me  of  their  future  blessed-  Blessedness 
ness.     Death  will  bring  them  only  release  from  pains  and  fVdead1* 
reward  for  their  good  deeds.  (I4:  I3^ 

I  saw  one  like  Daniel's  vision  of  a  human  figure  on  a  The 
cloud.1     He  was  crowned  as  a  king,  and  had  a  sickle  inLthereap- 
his  hand,  with  which,  at  the  summons  of  an  angel  messen-  T^°lfl^ 
ger  of  God,  he  reaped  the  ripe  earth. 

JDan.  7:13. 

253 


The  Messages  oj  the 

As  the  Another  angel  with  a  sickle  is  bidden  by  the  angel  of 

and  tread-    &re  to  gather  the  grapes  of  the  earth  and  cast  them  into 
ing  of  grapes  j-j^  wine.press  of  God's  wrath.     From  it  flowed  out  a  flood 

(14  :  17-20;  r 

of  wine,  like  blood,  over  all  the  land.1 

11.   Vision  oj  the  Sevenfold  Wrath  oj  God  (15-16) 

The  way  is  prepared  for  the  overthrow  of  the  beast, 
Rome,  and  of  the  dragon,  Satan,  by  a  new  and  last  series 
of  seven  plagues,  the  seven  bowls.  They  are  closely  paral- 
lel to  the  seven  trumpets,  but  less  elaborated,  and  although 
the  whole,  and  not  one-third,  is  now  involved,  yet  the 
description  is  somewhat  less  vivid  and  impressive.  The 
sequence  as  to  place  is  very  nearly  the  same  in  the  first  six 
bowls  and  trumpets,  namely  :  (1)  Earth,  (2)  Sea,  (3)  Rivers 
(fresh  waters),  (4)  Heavenly  bodies,  (5)  Under-world  (?), 
(6)  Euphrates.  The  bowls  are  somewhat  more  nearly 
related  to  the  Egyptian  plagues,  and  less  dominated  by 
volcanic  features.  But  the  seventh  bowl,  like  the  sixth 
seal,  is  an  earthquake  with  a  hail  of  volcanic  stones.  Un- 
like the  seals  and  trumpets,  there  is  in  the  bowls  no 
distinction  between  the  first  four  and  the  following  three, 
and  no  break  or  interlude  between  the  sixth  and  seventh. 
On  the  other  hand  the  first  five  are  somewhat  distinguished 
from  the  sixth  and  seventh. 
The  seven  I  saw  seven  angels  with  seven  plagues  in  which  God's 
plagues0  l  C  wrath  will  come  to  its  final  and  complete  expression. 

^I5  '    '  x  See  Enoch  100: 1-3. 

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Apocalyptical  Writers 

But  before  this  was  revealed,  in  order  that  you  faithful  Song  of  the 
Christians  might  not  be  terrified  by  it,  there  was  given  me  [eaven^  m 
another  vision  of  the  heavenly  blessedness  of  those  who^1512-4' 
successfully  resist  the  power  of  Rome  and  the  imperial 
cultus.     They  sing  a  song  of  praise  to  God  for  his  great- 
ness, a  Christian  song  like  the  Song  of  Moses  when  God 
delivered  Israel  from  the  Egyptians,  ascribing  in  the  lan- 
guage of  psalmists  and  prophets  of  old *  all  glory  to  him, 
whose  power  is  now  about  to  be  recognized  by  all  men. 

Then  I  saw  the  seven   angels   come  forth  out  of  the  The  seven 
heavenly  temple  in  splendid  attire,  and  one  of  the  fourcemTthe 
cherubim  gave  them  seven  bowls  containing  God's  wrath.  ^°^  of 
And  the  temple  was,  as  of  old,  so  filled  with  the  visible  ^s-s-s) 
glory  of  God  2  that  though  it  was  open,  none  could  enter 
into  it,  till  God's  judicial  wrath  had  spent  itself. 

Then  the  command  came  and  the  first  angel  poured  out  The  wrath 
his  bowl  into  the  earth  and  the  worshippers  of  Rome  were  against 
afflicted  with  sores,  like  the  sixth  Egyptian  plague.3     The^6^ 
second  poured  his  bowl  into  the  sea  and  it  became  blood  The  sea 
and  all  its  life  was  destroyed.4    The  third  poured  his  bowl (l6:3) 
into  the  fresh  waters  and  turned  them  into  blood.     The  Jateerfsesh 
angel  of  the  waters  confessed  that  the  judgment  was  but(l6:4-7) 

1  Ps.  92:5;  111:2;  139:14;  145:17  ;  Ex.  34: 10  ;  Jer.  10:6-7  ;  Hos.  14:9. 

2  See  Ex.  40:34;   1  Kings  8:10;   2  Chron.   5:13-14;   7:1-2;  Isa.  6:4: 
Ezek.  44:4. 

3  Ex.  9:8-11. 

*  See  the  first  Egyptian  plague  (Ex.  7: 1  4-25)  and  the  second  trumpet 

255 


The  Messages  of  the 

just,  since  men  who  had  shed  blood  must  now  drink  blood. 
The  altar  answers,  yes,  God's  judgments  are  just. 
The  sun  The  fourth  poured  his  bowl  upon  the  sun,  and  it  burned 

(I  '  men  with  its  intense  heat ;  yet  they  blasphemed  and  did 

not  repent. 
The  throne       The  fifth  poured  his  bowl  upon  the  throne  of  the  beast,1 
(16:^0-11)    and  brought  darkness  upon  his  kingdom  ;  but  for  all  these 

plagues  men  repented  not. 
The  The  sixth  poured  his  bowl  upon  the  Euphrates,  drying 

bringing6*3'  it  up  2  so  that  the  eastern  kings,  the  Parthians,  could  come 
kfngTto  war  against  Rome.  And  I  saw  that  the  three  great  powers 
(16:12-16)  0f  evil,  the  Satanic  dragon  and  the  two  Roman  beasts, 
would  instigate,  through  demoniacal  agency,  a  general  as- 
sembly of  nations  to  the  war  of  the  day  of  judgment.  (Note, 
my  readers,  that  that  day  will  come  unexpectedly,  and  only 
constant  watchfulness  can  prepare  one  for  it.)  The  place 
where  the  nations  will  gather  for  this  last  war  is  called  in 
Hebrew  Har-Magedon.3 

1  This  should  be  the  throne  of  the  Caesars,  but  it  is  possible  that  the  demon 
representative  of  Rome  is  in  mind,  and  that  a  preliminary  plague  in  the  realm 
of  Satan  is  intended  (cf.  13:  2,  where  the  throne  of  Rome  is  Satan's  throne). 

-  See  2  Esdr.  13:43-47. 

3  This  is  a  somewhat  obscure  vision  of  a  fixed  and  well-known  event  in 
Jewish  and  Christian  eschatology.  Wars  and  rumors  of  wars  are  always 
among  the  signs  of  the  end.  This  war  is  anticipated  in  the  sixth  trumpet 
(9:13-21)  and  consummated  in  19:19-21  and  20:7-10,  where  a  fuller  dis- 
cussion of  it  will  be  found.  Har-Magedon  may  mean  the  mount  of  Megiddo. 
The  plain  of  Megiddo  was  a  famous  battle-field,  and  a  natural  place  of  resist- 
ance against  armies  coming  from  the  north  toward  Jerusalem.     An  apoca- 

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Apocalyptical  Writers 

The  seventh  angel  poured  his  bowl  upon  the  air.     A  The  air, 
voice  announced  this  as  the  final  manifestation  of  God's  earthquake 
wrath.    An  earthquake  followed,  great  beyond  all  parallel,  ^^l\21\ 
in  which  the  mighty  city,  Rome,  was  divided  into  three  parts 
and  the  cities  of  other  nations  fell,  and  Rome  was  punished 
by  God.1     Islands,  too,  and  mountains  disappeared,  and  a 
hail-storm  of  great  stones  fell  upon  men  causing  them  to 
blaspheme. 

12.  The  Figure  of  the  Scarlet  Beast  and  the  Woman-City 

The  fall  of  Rome  is  not  adequately  described  in  the  Subject,  the 
seventh  bowl.  Perhaps  it  is  only  announced  there,  as  in 
14 :  8.  Since  it  is  a  leading  theme  of  the  book  we  should 
expect  it  to  be  fully  elaborated,  and  in  fact  the  next  three 
chapters  develop  it  in  different  ways  and  with  the  use  of 
a  variety  of  materials. 

The  interpretation  of  the  figure  of  the  woman  sitting  on  Origin  and 
the  dragon  is  involved  in  difficulties  of  the  same  sort  as  the  figure 
those  that  met  us  in  studying  chapters  12  and  13.     It  is 
quite  certain  that  the  author  is  here  also  using  traditional 
material.     It  is  not  at  all  certain  that  the  figure  was  first 

lyptical  writer  might  prefer  to  make  the  neighboring  mountains  the  scene  of 
the  conflict  on  account  of  Ezek.  38  :  8,  21  ;  39  :  2,  4,  17.  See  also  the  refer- 
ences to  Mount  Tabor  and  the  high  places  in  Jud.  4:6,  12,  14  ;  5  :  18  ;  cf. 
5  :  19.     Perhaps  lost  apocalyptical  traditions  would  explain  the  word. 

1  Or,  "the  great  city,"  Jerusalem  (cf.  11  :  8),  was  divided  into  three  parts, 
and  heathen  cities  fell,  and  Rome  was  reserved  for  special  judgment  at  the 
hand  of  God. 

257 


The  Messages  o)  the 

invented  to  typify  Rome,  nor  is  it  clear  that  our  author 
was  the  first  to  apply  it  to  Rome.  Just  how  far  he  may 
have  adapted  it  to  the  immediate  situation  it  is  not  easy 
to  say ;  yet  upon  our  answer  to  this  question  depends  the 
extent  and  detail  of  our  effort  to  find  references  to  his- 
torical events  in  the  various  features  of  the  picture.  Un- 
like chapters  12  and  13,  we  have  here  an  elaborate  inter- 
pretation of  the  figure  (vv.  7-18).  Yet  we  cannot  infer 
that  John  borrowed  the  figure  and  added  the  interpreta- 
tion, for  this  is  not  simple  and  consistent,  but  seems  itself 
to  have  been  worked  over  to  suit  a  new  use.  Verse  6  in 
the  vision,  and  verses  9  and  1 1  in  the  interpretation,  seem 
to  be  additions  to  an  older  form,  and  verse  14  does  not 
appear  to  be  in  a  natural  place,  for  the  ten  kings  could  not 
be  first  overcome  by  Christ  and  his  followers  and  then  aid 
the  beast  in  the  destruction  of  the  woman  (16-17). 

It  is  certain  that  this  is  a  vision  of  the  approaching  judg- 
ment upon  Rome.  Parallel  to  it  and  introduced  in  the 
same  way  is  the  vision  of  the  approaching  glory  of  Jeru- 
salem in  21  :  9  ff.  That  is  actually  the  vision  of  a  city,  and 
its  name  is  given  ;  this  is  a  symbolic  figure  which  is  defi- 
nitely interpreted  as  meaning  a  city,  and  all  but  in  name 
as  the  city,  Rome  (vv.  9,  18).  But  the  figure  was  hardly 
A  picture  of  constructed  in  the  first  place  for  Rome.  The  seven  heads 
were  a  fixed  feature  in  the  beast  that  represents  the  power 
against  God  (12  :  31;  3  :  1),  and  the  interpretation  of  them 
as  signifying  the  seven  hills  on  which  Rome  was  seated 

258 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

(v.  9)  is  evidently  secondary,  and  does  not  even  displace 
the  interpretation  of  them  as  seven  kings  (v.  10).  It  is 
not  Rome  but  the  literal  Babylon  that  sat  on  many  waters 
(v.  i),1  so  that  it  has  to  be  explained  that,  with  reference 
to  Rome,  the  many  waters  are  the  peoples  over  whom 
she  ruled  (v.  15).  Comparing  verses  1  and  3,  however,  it 
would  seem  that  the  beast  himself  should  be  the  many 
waters,  and  in  fact,  as  we  have  seen,  this  beast  is  the 
dragon  of  the  chaos  of  the  deep.  If  this  is  so  then  the 
whole  image  of  the  royal  woman  sitting  on  the  dragon 
could  have  been  shaped  in  the  first  place  as  a  picture  of 
Babylon. 

The  woman  and  the  dragon  evidently  belong  together,  Relation  of 
and  the  seven  heads  and  ten  horns  of  the  dragon  must  and  theS°n 
represent  the  imperial  power  on  which  the  greatness  of  the  woman 
city  rests.     But  at  the  end  of  the  chapter  the  beast  and 
the  ten  horns,  who  now  appear  as  foreign  kings,  are  ene- 
mies of  the  woman  and  bring  about  her  overthrow.     This 
must  be  a  modification  of  the  original  figure.     Now  it  is 
a  historical  fact  that  though  the  Roman  enjpire  lifted  the 
city  of  Rome  to  a  greater  than  its  former  glory,  yet  there 
remained  from  the  days  of  the  Republic  a  persistent  popu- 
lar aversion  to  the  imperial  policy,  so  that  the  idea  of  a 
final  turning  of  the  empire  against  the  city  was  not  in- 
conceivable.    Perhaps,  however,  the  Nero  myth  must  be  The  Nero 
assumed  as  the  explanation  of  this  strange  ending  of  the  m>t 

1  So  in  Jer.  51  :  13. 

259 


The  Messages  of  the 

vision.  The  last  form  of  this  myth  appears  to  have  an- 
ticipated a  rising  of  Nero  from  the  under-world,  and  his 
coming  with  the  aid  of  the  Parthians  to  take  vengeance 
on  the  city  that  had  forsaken  him.  To  this,  which  could 
be  a  Jewish  expectation,  the  Christian  writer  added  the 
warfare  of  the  returning  Nero  and  his  allies  against  Chris- 
tians (v.  14). 

If  it  was  the  identification  of  the  beast  with  the  emperors 
and  specifically  with  Nero  that  made  possible  the  con- 
ception of  a  final  assault  of  the  beast  upon  the  woman, 
Rome,  then  verse  11  must  be  understood  as  making  this 
identification.  After  the  appointed  seven  kings  of  Rome 
will  come  an  eighth,  who  is  one  of  the  seven,  for  the  set 
number  must  not  be  changed,  and  is  also  the  beast  him- 
self. The  returning  Nero  could  be  so  described.  A  half- 
Satanic  being,  he  would  be  no  longer  only  one  of  the 
heads  (kings),  but  the  beast  itself,  the  very  embodiment 
of  the  evil  spirit  of  the  Roman  empire.  Then  verse  8 
must  have,  in  our  author's  intention,  the  same  meaning. 
It  is  the  beast  as  Nero  who  was,  and  is  not,  and  is  about 
to  come  up  out  of  the  abyss,  and  to  go  to  destruction. 
These  impressive  formulas,  however,  with  their  apparently 
intended  antithesis  to  the  description  of  God  as  one  who 
was,  and  is,  and  is  to  come,  were  probably  shaped  origi- 
nally to  describe  the  Satanic  chaos  dragon  himself,  who 
was,  before  creation,  and  who  is  not,  having  been  bound  at 
the  creation  of  the  world,  and  who  is  to  come  up  out  of  the 

260 


A  pocalyptical  Writers 

abyss  to  make  a  final  assault  upon  God  and  his  people, 
and  be  forever  vanquished  and  destroyed. 

We  have  then  in  this  chapter  the  familiar  figure  of  the  Summary 
chaos  dragon,  from  a  heathen  mythology,  once  applied  to 
Babylon,  and  afterward  to  Rome,  reshaped  to  be  a  vehicle 
of  the  Nero  myth,  and  applied  by  the  Christian  writer  to 
explain  the  present  and  future  persecutions  of  the  saints 
(vv.  6,  14),  and  to  express  the  assurance  that  the  perse- 
cuting power  was  nearing  its  appointed  overthrow,  per- 
haps with  the  suggestion  that  that  which  made  Rome's 
rule  just  now  especially  oppressive  would  prove  itself  the 
means  of  her  downfall. 

In  verse  10  we  seem  to  have  a  very  specific  indication  of  The  date  of 
our  author's  date.  Five  Roman  emperors  are  fallen,  one 
is,  and  one  more  is  to  follow  and  reign  a  short  time.  The 
book,  or  rather  the  verse,  was  written  then  under  the  sixth 
emperor.  We  may  safely  omit  Galba,  Otho,  and  Vitellius 
from  the  reckoning,  but  it  is  not  certain  whether  we  should 
begin  with  Caesar,  as  do  Suetonius,  Josephus,  Fourth  Ezra 
(11  :  12,  13  ;  12  :  14,  15),  and  possibly  Revelation  13  :  3, 
or  more  correctly  with  Augustus,  as  Tacitus  does. 

The  latter  gives  a  better  result,  for  Nero  would  then  be 
already  dead,  as  verse  8  may  imply,  and  the  verse  would 
date  from  Vespasian  (69-79  A.  D.).  Titus,  the  seventh, 
did  in  fact  reign,  but  a  short  time,  so  that  it  is  possible  to 
infer  that  even  this  verse  came  from  Domitian's  reign,  and 
that  the  assumption  of  Vespasian's  reign  is  a  device  by 

261 


The  Messages  o)  the 

which  the  writer  is  enabled  to  predict  the  short  reign  of 
Titus  and  to  identify  Domitian  with  the  returning  Nero. 
It  seems  more  probable,  however,  that  verse  10  really 
came  from  Vespasian's  reign  ;  and  that  the  next  reign  was 
made  short  in  order  that  the  number  seven  might  be  filled 
out  and  yet  the  end  be  near. 

In  verse  n,  however,  the  number  is  lengthened  out  to 
eight  in  such  a  way  as  to  suggest  that  the  writer  is  living 
under  the  eighth  emperor  and  feels  obliged  to  reduce  the 
number  to  seven  in  accordance  with  the  vision.  This  he 
does  by  making  the  beast  himself  the  eighth,  and  by  say- 
ing still  further  that  the  eighth  was  one  of  the  seven. 

Perhaps  it  is  simplest  to  suppose  that  the  vision  received 
its  earlier  form  (Jewish  or  Christian)  under  Vespasian,  as 
verse  10  indicates,  and  that  verse  n  was  added  when  our 
book  was  written,  under  Domitian.  Other  additions  we 
may  suppose  were  verses  6  and  14.  It  is  possible  also  that 
the  ten  kings  got  their  present  peculiar  interpretation  from 
the  same  hand.  They  may  represent  the  Parthians,  with 
whose  help  Nero  was  to  come  against  Rome.  But  it  must 
be  confessed  that  being  ten  horns  of  the  beast  it  is  more 
natural  to  suppose  that  either  provincial  Roman  governors 
or  vassal  kings  of  the  empire  were  meant.  The  historian 
Mommsen  maintains  that  the  impulse  to  the  Book  of 
Revelation  came  from  a  pseudo-Nero,  Terentius  Maxi- 
mus,  who  arose  in  Asia  Minor  in  the  last  days  of  Vespa- 
sian.    He  found  adherents  in  the  region  of  the  Euphrates. 

262 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

The  Parthians  supported  him  and  prepared  to  reinstate 
him  in  Rome  by  force,  but  at  length  surrendered  him,  after 
long  negotiations,  about  the  year  88,  to  Domitian. 

It  should,  however,  be  said  at  the  end  that  caution  may  Remaining 
well  be  used  with  regard  to  the  reference  to  Nero  here  as  in  ^^  a  out 
chapter  13.  The  clear  meaning  of  the  vision  would  appear 
to  be  that  Rome  is  to  fall  at  the  hands  of  certain  rulers  who 
now  seem  to  belong  to  her,  whether  governors  or  former 
kings  of  Roman  provinces,  and  that  Satan,  who  has  given 
Rome  its  evil  power,  will  be  the  inspiring  agent  in  this  revo- 
lution. 

13.  The  Fait  of  Rome  in  a  Figure  (17) 

One  of  the  seven  angels  of  the  bowls  summoned  me  to  Vision  of  the 
see  the  judgment  of  the  great  harlot-city,  situated,  like  (Rome)  and 
Babylon,  on  many  waters.     By  her,  as  by  Tyre  and  Baby-  beLT^i-fc) 
Ion  of  old,  kings  were  made  impure.1 

He  took  me  away,  in  anecstasy,  into  a  wilderness,2  where 
I  saw  a  woman  sitting  on  a  scarlet  beast,  which  had,  like 
the  beasts  I  had  seen  before,  the  well-known  marks  of 
godless  world  rulership.3  The  woman  was  magnificently 
attired,  a  picture  of  luxury  and  immorality.  Her  name  was 
Babylon,  the  mother  of  vice  and  sin  ;  and  I  saw  that  it  was 
with  the  blood  of  Christian  martyrs  that  she  was  defiled.4 

1  Isa.  23:17",  Jer.  51:7;  Rev.  14:8. 

2  Such  as  lay  between  Palestine  and  Babylonia.  3  Rev.  12:3;   13:1. 

4  Those  even  in  the  provinces  who  were  sentenced  to  fight  with  wild  beasts 
would  die  chiefly  in  Rome  (cf.  18:24). 

263 


The  Messages  oj  the 


The  inter- 
pretation of 
the  beast 
and  his 
heads 
(7-ii) 


The  ten 
kings  and 
their  war 
against 
Christians 
and  against 
Rome 
(12-17) 


The  angel  promised  to  explain  to  me  the  hidden  meaning 
of  the  woman  and  the  beast.  The  beast,  he  said,  "was, 
and  is  not,  and  is  about  to  come  up  out  of  the  abyss,  and 
to  go  to  destruction,"  and  all  men  except  Christians  1  shall 
wonder  at  his  coming  again  after  having  disappeared. 

We  that  are  wise  may  see  that  the  seven  heads  suggest 
the  seven  hills  on  which  Rome  sits.  They  also  stand  for 
seven  kings,  of  whom  the  sixth  reigns  at  present ;  the 
seventh  will  reign  but  a  little  while.  The  beast  himself 
will  finally  reign,  and  we  may  call  him  therefore  an  eighth, 
though  he  also  belongs  to  the  seven,  so  that  the  destined 
number  is  not  exceeded. 

The  ten  horns  are  also  ten  kings,2  though  they  have  not 
yet  received  their  royal  power.  But  they  will  reign  for  a 
brief  time  when  the  beast  reigns  (the  eighth),  and  wholly  in 
subordination  to  him.  These  are  they  who  with  the  beast 
are  to  make  war  against  Christ  and  his  followers  and  be 
vanquished.3  The  waters  on  which  the  harlot  sits  may 
be  taken  as  meaning  the  multitudes  of  nations  over  whom 
Rome  holds  sway.4  It  is  these  ten  kings  who  with  the 
demon  beast  itself  shall  turn  against  the  harlot,  Rome, 
whom  they  now  support,  and  destroy  her.  For  God  made 
these  kings  and  the  nations  they  represent  at  first  a' part 

1  As  in  13:8.  2  As  we  learn  from  Dan.  7 :  7,  20,  24. 

3  After  the  temporary  and  apparent  victory  alluded  to  in  11:7;  12: 17  (or,  6 
and  13-17) ;  13:7. 

*  This  is  a  familiar  use  of  the  figure  (Isa.  8:7;  Jer.  47 :  2).  It  was  suggested 
by  the  reflection  that  Rome  was  not,  like  Babylon,  literally  situated  on  waters. 

264 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

of  the  evil  empire  and  then  the  agent  in  her  overthrow, 
which  is  accomplished  by  that  very  Satanic  spirit  of  evil 
to  which  Rome  owes  her  present  fleeting  glory.     For  the  The  woman 
woman  is,  as  you  may  well  know  already,  that  city  which  f^)0™6 
now  rules  over  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth. 

14.  Dependence  and  Freedom  in  the  Use  0}  Prophecy 

We  do  not  know  the  sources  of  the  materials  from  which  Dependence 
the  figures  of  chapter  17  were  constructed,  and  can  only°°ment 
make  guesses  as  to  the  process  by  which  the  materials  Pr°Phecy 
took  this  form.     On  the  other  hand,  chapter  18,  which 
expresses  in   prophetic   form   the   same  expectation  that 
chapter  17  gives  in  apocalyptical  imagery,  is  made  up  al- 
most entirely  of  Old  Testament  language,  borrowed  from 
the  woes  against  Babylon  (Isa.  13,  14  ;  Jer.  50,  51),  Tyre 
(Isa.  23;  Ezek.  26-28),  and  Edom  (Isa.  34).     The  prin- How  was 
cipal  question  here  concerns  the  intellectual  process  out  composed6? 
of  which  this  composition  sprang.     This  conglomerate  of 
Old  Testament  phrases  is  described  as  the  utterance  of 
angel  voices  from  heaven,  which  the  seer  heard.     Now  it 
is  true  that  the  chapter  does  not  make  the  impression  of 
being  pieced  together  in  a  mechanical  way  by  some  dry 
and  laborious  scribe.     On  the  contrary,  the  result,  though 
it  contains  little  new,  has  a  unity  of  its  own  and  a  degree  of 
impressiveness  which  seems  to  attest  a  strong  emotional 
impulse  in  its  writer.     We  can  suppose  that  one  whose 
mind  was  full  of  prophetic  language  against  the  godless 

265 


The  Messages  of  the 

cities  of  the  past,  and  whose  heart  was  burning  with  hatred 
against  the  godless  city  of  the  present,  could  have  ex- 
pressed himself  in  such  a  way  as  this  ;  and  it  is  possible 
that  the  heat  and  intensity  of  his  mental  action  was  such 
that  what  he  wrote  seemed  to  him  not  his  own — as  indeed 
in  a  true  sense  it  was  not — but  inspired  from  heaven.  Yet 
even  so  the  angel  voices  and  action  must  have  been,  to 
the  author  of  such  a  production,  figure  rather  than  reality, 
and  certainly  for  us  no  supernatural  agency  is  needed  to 
explain  its  composition. 

There  is  one  verse  which  seems  to  allude  to  a  historical 
situation  (v.  4),  but  we  hesitate  to  give  it  such  a  significance 
when  we  see  that  it  is  taken  over  exactly  from  Jeremiah. 
It  was  probably  taken  not  in  the  literal  sense,  as  a  warn- 
ing to  escape  from  a  doomed  city,  but  as  an  admonition 
to  Christians  to  escape  from  contact  with  heathen  life,  lest 
they  share  the  approaching  downfall  of  the  heathen  world. 

The  variations  between  the  second  and  third  personal 
pronouns  in  speaking  of  the  city  seem  to  have  no  signifi- 
cance except  as  signs  of  the  various  sources  from  which 
the  writer  drew. 

15.   The  Fall  of  Rome  in  the  Language  0}  Prophecy  (18) 

The  fall  of  After  this  I  saw  another  angel  from  heaven,  of  great 
nounced  authority  and  shining  radiance,  who  cried,  Babylon-Rome 
(I_3^  is  fallen  1  and  become  like  a  desert,  with  its  uncanny  in- 

1  Isa.  21  :  9 ;  Jer.  51:8. 
266 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

habitants,1   for  she   has  misled   ano!   corrupted  all  na- 
tions.2 

I  heard  another  voice  summoning  God's  people  to  leave  Her  fall  is 
the  doomed  city,3  so  as  not  to  share  her  sins,4  and  the  pun-  smg  (4-s)r 
ishment  which  is  now  about  to  fall  upon  her.5  Let  her 
punishment  be  according  to  the  strict  rule  of  recompense, 
like  for  like,8  but  in  double  measure.7  Let  her  misery  be 
as  great  as  her  present  glory  and  self-confidence.8  The 
troubles  which  she  thinks  far  from  her  shall  come  upon 
her  suddenly,  bringing  sorrow  and  destruction,  for  the 
strong  God  is  her  judge.9 

The  kings  of  the  earth  who  lived  in  luxury  and  sin  \>e-  Kings  be- 
cause of  her  shall  weep  over  her  destruction, 10  and  the  for-  (9-IO)er 
eign  merchants  who  were  enriched  by  supplying  the  various  Lamenta- 
luxuries  of  her  extravagant  and  splendid  life  mourn  the  merchants 
loss  of  her  trade,11 — for  all  the  things  thou  didst  desire  and  (II-I7a) 
prize  have  perished — the  merchants  (I  say)  mourned  over 
the  city  that  had  so  suddenly  lost  so  great  magnificence.12 

Sea-captains  and  sailors  likewise  mourned  the  fall  of  Seamen 
the  city  whose  trade  had  made  them  rich. 13     But  let  heaven  ^un 

(i7b-i9) 

1  Isa.  13  :  21 ;  14  :  23  ;  cf.  34  :  11-15  ;  Bar.  4  :  3sb  ;  Jer.  50  :  39 ;  51  :  37. 

2  Isa.  23  :  17 ;  Jer.  51:7;  Nah.  3:4;  cf.  Ezek.  27. 

8  Jer.  51  : 6,  9,  45  ;  50  : 8 ;  Isa.  48  :  20  ;  cf.  Apoc.  Bar.  2  : 1. 

4  Isa.  52  :  11.  5  Jer.  51  :6,  9.  6  Jer.  50  :  isb,  29b  \  Ps.  137  :8. 

7  Cf.  Isa.  40  :  2.         8  Isa.  47  :  7-8  ;  cf.  Jer.  50  :  29  (Babylon), 

9  Isa.  47  :  9.     That  Rome  is  to  be  destroyed  by  fire  (cf.  vv.  9,  18)  is  said  also 
in  17  :  16,  but  there  it  is  by  the  ten  kings,  here  by  God's  judgment. 

10  Ezek.  26  :  16-18.  u  Ezek.  27  :  12-24.  12  Ezek.  27  :  36. 
13  Ezek.  27  :  27-34. 

267 


The  Messages  oj  the 
But  Chris-    and  all  Christian  martyrs  therein  rejoice,  for  Rome's  fall 

tians  re-  .  ,.  ■, 

joice  (20)      is  your  vindication  and  revenge. 

Her  fall  will  Then  an  angel  cast  a  great  stone  into  the  sea,  as  Jeremiah 
absolute  was  once  charged  to  do,1  as  a  symbol  of  the  sudden  and 
(21-24)  £naj  fajl  0f  the  doomed  city.  No  longer,  said  he,  shall 
music  be  heard,2  or  any  art  or  labor  be  pursued  in  thee. 
No  lamps  shall  shine  in  thee,  no  weddings  be  celebrated.3 
For  great  as  was  thy  wealth,4  thou  didst  corrupt  the  na- 
tions.5 Moreover,  she  was  the  great  slayer  of  prophets 
and  of  saints.6 

16.  The  Fall  oj  Rome  in  Heavenly  Song  (19  :  1-10) 

In  19  :  1-10,  as  in  7  :  9  ff. ;  11 :  14-18 ;  14  :  1-5 ;  15  :  1-3, 
the  author  interrupts  the  course  of  his  visions  of  judgment 
to  come  with  a  heavenly  scene  in  which  the  meaning  and 
outcome  of  it  all  is  set  forth.  In  verses  1-3  the  seer  ap- 
pears to  be  on  earth  and  only  hears  a  great  voice  of  heavenly 
choirs  ;  but  in  verses  4  ff.  he  describes  the  heavenly  scene 
in  detail,  after  the  manner  of  chapter  4.  This  may  be 
evidence  of  the  use  of  different  materials,  or  only  of  the 
author's  disregard  of  formal  consistency.  There  is  no 
distinctively  Christian  element  except  in  verses  7-10. 

1  Jer.  51  :  63-64.        2  Ezek.  26  :  13  ;  Isa.  24  : 8. 

8  Jer.  25  :  10 ;  7  :  34 ;  16  :  9.         4  Isa.  23  :  8.        5  Nah.  3:4",  Isa.  47  : 9. 

6  Jer.  51  :  35,  49  ;  Ezek.  24  :  7-9.  The  charge  which  in  Jeremiah  is  made 
against  Babylon,  and  which  Christ  (following  Ezekiel)  makes  against  Jerusa- 
lem (Matt.  23  :  29~37  =  Lu.  11  :  47-51 ;  13  :  34),  our  writer  characteristically 
turns  against  Rome. 

268 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

After  this  I  heard  in  vision  what  was  like  the  voice  of  Heavenly 
a  multitude  ascribing  praise  to  God  because  of  his  just  f0rra R0sme.s 
judgment  upon  Rome  for  her  corruption  and  for  her  per-  overthrow 
secution   of   his  servants.     Her  burning  is  as  perpetual 
as  that    of    Edom  of   old  (Isa.  34  :   10).     The    twenty- 
four  elders  and   the  four  living  beings  joined   in   these  in  which  all 


God's 


e  join 


praises.  In  response  to  a  heavenly  command  all  God's  peoPi 
people  join  in  a  mighty  Hallelujah  to  the  Lord,  the  (s~6) 
King.1   " 

For  us  Rome's  fall  and  God's  reign  is  an  occasion  for  The  joy  of 
great  joy,  as  at  a  marriage  feast,  for  in  place  of  the  harlot  SSvers* 
city,  Rome,  the  new  Jerusalem,  the  Christian  community, (7_9) 
will  appear  as  the  pure  bride  of  Christ,  clothed  in  righteous 
deeds.2    And  the  angel  3  said,  Blessed  are  those  who  are 
invited  to  this  marriage  feast  ;  4  and  he  declared  these  words 
divinely  true.     But  when  I  would  worship  him,  he  for-  The  angel 
bade  me,  saying  that  he  was  but  a  fellow -servant  of  Christ,  worSdpped6 
and  that  God  only  was  to  be  worshipped  ;  for  angels  can  ^io^ 
only  bear  witness  to  Jesus,  and  this  witness  to  Jesus  is  the 
supernatural  endowment  of  the  Christian  prophet  also, 

1  A  like  refrain  is  found  in  Ps.  93  :  i ;  97  :  1 ;  99  :  i,  and  see  also  the 
Psalms  of  Solomon,  2  :  34,  36 ;  5  :  21  f. ;  17  :  1,  4,  38,  51.  Such  summonings 
to  praise  God  are  common  in  the  Psalms,  e.  g.,  104  :  35  ;  106  :  48 ;  22  :  23  ; 
115  :  13 ;  134  :  1 ;    135  :  1,  and  in  general  Ps.  1 13-18. 

2  An  anticipation  of  ch.  21,  where  the  figure  is  interpreted.  In  2  Esd.  9 
the  old  Jerusalem  is  God's  bride  ;  cf.  Hos.  2  :  19-20 ;  Isa.  54  :  5 ;  62  :  5 ; 
Ezek.  16  ;  Jer.  3  ;  and  Paul  likens  the  Christian  community  to  the  bride  of 
Christ,  2  Cor.  n  :  2 ;  Eph.  5  :  29,  32. 

3  See  17  :  15.  4See  Lu.  14  :  15. 

269 


the  two 

beasts 


The  Messages  of  the 

so  that  the  angel  and  the  prophet  belong  in  the  same 
class.1 

17.  The  Warrior -Messiah 

The  warrior-  In  19  :  1 1-2 1  we  have  the  end  of  the  two  beasts,  the 
th/faliof1  Roman  empire  and  the  imperial  cultus,  whose  rise  and 
dominion  chapter  13  describes,  while  chapter  20  brings 
the  temporary  imprisonment  and  then  the  final  overthrow  of 
the  dragon,  Satan,  of  chapter  12.  But  though  this  is  our 
writer's  plan  there  is  evidence  that  the  materials  he  used 
were  not  originally  cast  in  just  this  form.  We  have  found 
reason  to  suppose  that  the  dragon  of  chapter  12  and  the 
beasts  of  chapter  13  had  originally  the  same  meaning, 
that  is,  the  ungodly  power  of  Rome  which  persecuted  first 
the  Jews  and  then  Christians.  Behind  both  lies  in  apoc- 
alyptical tradition  the  same  chaos  monster,  whom  God 
overcame  at  creation,  and  who  was  to  be  again  and  finally 
vanquished,  in  his  new  form  as  symbol  or  demon  of  the 
godless  heathen  kingdoms,  at  God's  second  coming  and 
Relation  to  new  Messianic  creation.  The  account  of  the  birth  of 
Messiah  and  his  escape  from  the  dragon  (12:5)  should  nat- 
urally have  been  followed  by  an  account  of  the  victorious 
warfare  of  the  Messiah  after  he  had  grown  to  manhood 
against  his  old  enemy  ;  and  the  present  chapter  supplies 
in  part  what  we  should  think  the  original  story  must  have 

1  It  is  not  certain  just  what  this  last  clause  of  v.  10  means.     It  may  possibly 
be  a  gloss.     At  all  events  the  verse  is  a  protest  against  angel  worship. 

270 


ch.  12 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

contained.  Here  the  Messiah  comes  as  a  mounted  war-  Thewamor- 
rior,  with  some  features  that  suggest  the  young  sun -god  jetShor 
of  the  ancient  myth  (v.  12),  with  hosts  of  heavenly  cav  Christian? 
airy,  to  overcome  the  heathen  nations  and  reign  over  all. 
No  doubt  the  vivid  and  sanguinary  picture  of  Jehovah's 
coming  in  judgment  in  Isaiah  63  :  1-6  furnished  much  of 
the  imagery  of  this  description  of  Christ,  and  it  may  be  that 
we  need  no  other  explanation  of  it  than  this,  and  the  Mes- 
siah of  Isaiah  n  :  1-5,  and  our  writer's  own  adaptations.1 
It  is  not  easy  to  say  how  far  this  warfare  could  have  been 
literally  conceived,  even  by  a  Jewish  writer.  The  blood- 
thirsty and  revengeful  spirit  is  evident  enough,  and  we 
should  prefer  to  think  that  it  was  not  the  original  creation 
of  the  Christian  writer,  but  that  he  rather  adopted  Jewish 
material  here  as  often  before,  and  used  it  in  a  more  or  less 
figurative  sense.  The  image  of  a  fierce  warrior  is  quite 
different  from  our  writer's  own  vision  of  the  heavenly 
Christ  in  chapter  5  ;  and  perhaps  we  can  see  evidences  of 
the  process  by  which  this  Jewish  figure  became  allegorized 
into  a  Christian  one.  The  garment  sprinkled  with  blood, 
in  spite  of  its  likeness  to  Isaiah  63  :  1-2,  may  be  meant  to 
suggest  the  sacrificial  death  of  Christ  rather  than  the  blood 
of  a  warrior,  for  it  is  so  dyed  before,  and  not  only  after 
the  combat  ;  and  the  name,  The  Word  of  God,  and  the  The  "Word 
idea  that  his  sword  proceeds  out  of  his  mouth  (vv.  15,  21) 
suggests  that  it  is  not  an  actual  warfare  in  which  the  re- 

1  Joel  3  :  9-15,  and  Ezek.  39  :  4,  17-20  are  also  used  ;  cf.  Wisd.  18  :  4-25. 

271 


The  Messages  of  the 

turning  Christ  will  engage,  but  rather  a  judging  in  right- 
eousness, which  is  the  task  of  him  who  is  faithful  and  true 
(v.  u).  This  idea,  however,  is  not  distinctively  Christian. 
In  Isaiah  11:4  the  Messiah  smites  the  earth  by  his  words, 
not  by  arms.  So  in  the  Psalms  of  Solomon,  "He  shall 
destroy  the  ungodly  nations  with  the  word  of  his  mouth" 
(17  :  27,  39,  41).  In  Second  Esdras  13  :  9-11,  27-38  the 
breath  of  Messiah's  mouth  is  like  a  tempest  of  fire  destroy- 
ing his  enemies,  and  this  is  interpreted  as  meaning  his 
words  of  rebuke  and  condemnation.  We  may  compare 
also  the  striking  personification  of  the  judicial  word  of  God 
in  the  Book  of  Wisdom  18  :  15-16,  in  a  description  of  the 
slaying  of  the  first-born  in  Egypt.  The  title  "Word  of 
God"  here  may  have  little  if  any  relation  to  its  use  in  the 
Fourth  Gospel.  It  would  be  hard  to  find  two  descrip- 
tions of  the  Messiah  and  his  task  farther  apart  than  Rev- 
elation 19:  11  ff.  and  John  1  :  1  ff.  There  is  no  sugges- 
tion in  Revelation  of  the  Alexandrian  Logos  speculation. 
It  is  of  course  possible  that  the  name  was  added  as  a  gloss 
by  a  later  scribe  who  thought  he  could  supply  the  mys- 
terious name  "which  no  one  knows  but  himself"  (v.  12). 
In  the  eschatology  of  our  author  the  great  final  assault 
of  heathen  powers  against  the  Messianic  kingdom,  fore- 
told in  Ezekiel  38-39,  and  in  many  prophets  after  him,1 
falls  into  two  parts,  the  one  here  told  (19  :  19-21)  before 

1  See  Joel  3  : 1-13 ;  Zech.  14  12;  Ps.  2  ;  Isa.  24  :  21 ;  and  cf.  Rev.  16  ;  12-16 ; 
17  :  12-14. 

272 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

the  thousand  years'  reign  of  Christ,  and  the  one  told  in 
20  :  7-10,  after  it. 

18.  The  Fall  of  Rome  at  the  Hand  of  Christ  (19 :  11-21) 

Then  I  had  a  vision  of  a  heavenly  rider  on  a  white  horse,  Christ  the 
his  name,  Faithful  and  True,1  his  calling,  that  of  a  king,  JSE* 
to  judge  and  make  war.     He  had  blazing  eyes  2  and  many  ^J-l6> 
diadems,  since  he  is  king  of  many  peoples,  and  a  mysterious 
name  known  to  no  one  else.3     His  garment  was  blood-red, 
like  that  of  the  heavenly  judge  in  Isaiah  63  :  1-2,  and  his 
name  was  "The  Word  of  God."    Armies  of  heavenly  horse- 
men in  white  followed  him.     Out  of  his  mouth  came  words     • 
like  a  sword  with  which  to  smite  the  nations.4    He.  will 
rule  them  with  an  absolute  authority,5  and  will  execute  the 
judicial  wrath  of  God,6  according  to  the  exalted  name  he 
bears,  King  of  kings  and  Lord  of  lords.7 

An  angel  in  the  sun  summoned  the  birds  to  feast  on  the  Thefrufe- 

feast 
1  See  3:  14-  2  Dan.  10:6.  (17-18) 

3  Just  such  a  name  is  promised  to  him  who  overcomes  in  2  :  17.  Perhaps 
the  idea  is  derived  from  that  of  a  magical  formula,  a  word  of  supernatural 
properties  and  powers  ;  for  the  proper  names  of  this  being  are  known  (vv.  11, 

I3*This  means  that  the  Messiah's  judicial  word  is  itself  effectual,  his  sen- 
tence of  condemnation  is  self-executing.     See  1  :  16  ;  2  :  12,  and  Isa.  11:4. 
5  The  expression  is  from  Ps.  2  :  9  ;  cf.  Rev.  2  :  27  ;  12  :  5- 
«  The  figure  of  the  wine-press  has  been  used  already  in  14  :  19-20,  and  is 
derived  from  Joel  3  :  13  and  Isa.  63  :  2-3- 

7  See  17  •  14  This  which  in  the  Old  Testament  is  a  title  only  of  Goo. 
(Dan.  2  :  47  ;  Deut.  10  :  17,  and  so  in  1  Tim.  6  :  15)  is  here  applied  to  Christ. 

273 


The  Messages  o)  the 

bodies  of  the  slain,  who  include  all  men,  of  high  and  low 

estate.1 
Assault  and      Then  I  saw  the  Roman  empire  and  the  other  kings  with 
therRoman°  their  armies  come  against  the  Messiah  and  his  hosts  ;  and 
ruifuseand   R°me  and  its  godless  worship  (the  two  beasts  of  ch.  13) 
O9  21)        were  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire.2     The  rest  were  slain  by  the 

Messiah,  and  made  food  for  the  birds. 

19.  The  Imprisonment  oj  Satan  and  the  Thousand  Years1 

Reign 

Relation  of  Back  of  Rome,  in  our  author's  view,  is  the  spirit  of  evil, 
Saun  to  the  wh°  gives  Rome  its  evil  power  (ch.  12  ;  cf.  13  :  1  f.).  Hence 
fall  of  Rome  as  Defore  describing  the  rise  of  Rome  (ch.  13)  he  gives 
an  account  of  Satan  himself  and  of  the  reason  for  his  pres- 
ent power  on  earth  (ch.  12),  so  now,  after  telling  of  the  fall 
of  Rome,  he  goes  on  to  describe  the  fate  of  Satan.  So 
closely  are  the  two  united,  Rome's  power  is  so  much  the 
embodiment  of  Satan's  rule,  that  the  fall  of  Rome  involves 
at  least  the  crippling  of  his  kingdom.  With  the  fall  of  the 
empire,  which  was  his  tool,  Satan  is  himself  bound  for 
a  time,  but  his  final  overthrow  will  not  come  until  one 

1  This  figure  is  taken  from  Ezek.  39  :  4,  17-20,  where  it  describes  the  awful 
fate  of  Gog  and  his  hosts  when  they  come  in  the  Messianic  time  against 
Israel.  There  are  other  less  gross  forms  in  which  the  figure  of  a  feast  is  used 
of  the  Messianic  age,  the  idea  being  not  as  here  that  of  birds  of  prey  feasting 
on  the  slain  foes  of  Christ,  but  that  of  a  feast  of  joy  and  companionship.  See 
Lu.  22  :  30 ;  Mk.  14  :  25. 

2  See  Dan.  7:11;  Isa.  30  :  33  ;  Ezek.  38  :  22,  and  especially  En.  10  :  13  ; 
18  :  11  ff. ;  21  :  7  ;  90  :  24-27. 

274 


Apocalyptical  Writers 


more  opportunity  has  been  given  him  to  show  his  malign 
power. 

The  idea  that  each  nation  has  its  counterpart  in  the  heav-  Evil  angels 
enly  world,  and  that  the  conflicts  and  fortunes  of  these  natSshen 
angel  beings  accompany  and  explain  the  great  events  of 
world  history,  was,  as  we  have  seen,  familiar  to  the  Jews. 
It  is  found  not  only  in  Daniel  10-12,  but  also  in  Isaiah 
24  :  21,  22  l  and  in  later  apocalypses.2 

There  are  other  important  points  of  connection  between  imprisoned 
this  chapter  and  current  Jewish  ideas.  In  the  Book  of  BoS^o?  *  e 
Enoch  3  there  is  elaborated  out  of  the  myth  of  Genesis Enoch 
6  :  1-3  the  idea  that  after  certain  angels  fell  from  heaven 
they  were  bound  under  the  earth  where  they  are  to  remain 
during  the  course  of  human  history.4  Only  at  its  end  will 
they  be  released  and  then  only  in  order  to  suffer  a  more 
severe  and  final  punishment.  Meanwhile  the  evils  that 
afflict  men  are  due  in  part  to  the  demon  spirits  of  the  giants, 
the  offspring  of  the  fallen  angels,  and  in  part  to  the  angels 
of  the  heathen  nations,  who  oppress  the  Jews  beyond  their 
commission.  As  in  Revelation  20  :  10,  so  in  Enoch  90  :  21- 
25,  we  read  that  these  angels  of  the  nations  are  punished 
in  the  same  abyss  of  fire  to  which  the  original  fallen  angels 
are  condemned.  We  can  guess  that  the  conception  that  su- 
pernatural powers  of  evil  are  confined  and  their  destruc- 

1  See  also  Deut.  4:10;  32:8  LXX  ;  cf.  Isa.  34  :  4-5  i  Ps.  82  ;  58  ( ?). 

2  See  En.  80,  00.  3  See  pp.  301-305. 

4  From  Enoch  this  conception  passed  over  into  the  New  Testament.    Judc 
6 ;  2  Pet.  2  :  4  ;  cf.  1  Pet.  3  :  19. 

275 


The  Messages  oj  the 

tive  powers  restrained  under  the  earth  was  originally  sug- 
gested by  earthquakes  and  volcanoes.1     There  is  a  rela- 
tively old  account  of  a  long  confinement  and  then  a  releas- 
Imprison-     ing  of  evil  angels  in  Isaiah  24  :  21-22,  and  this  leads  back 
chaos°beast  to  &  still  different  conception,  that  of  creation  as  accom- 
plished by  a  binding  of  the  chaos  dragon,  the  spirit  of  the 
waters,  that  is  a  confining  of  the  ocean  within  fixed  bounds, 
so  that  earth  is  freed  from  its  ravages  and  can  produce  life. 
We  have  already  discussed  this  idea  and  its  important 
place  both  in  the  Old  Testament  and  in  apocalyptical 
symbolism.2 
Peculiarities      But  in  Revelation  the  binding  of  Satan  takes  place  not 
ceptionki     at  or  near  the  creation  of  the  world,  but  at  the  beginning 
Revelation    Qf  t}ie  Messianic  kingdom.     This  looks  like  a  Christian 
modification.     To  the  Christian  seer  it  is  not  God's  deeds 
at  creation  or  in  the  beginnings  of  human  history,  but 
Christ's  deeds,  past  and  about  to  come,  which  are  the  cen- 
tre of  faith  and  hope.     The  dragon  was  cast  out  of  heaven 
in  connection  with  the  birth  and  ascension  of  Christ.     His 
rule  on  earth  is  to  be  checked  by  Christ's  victory  over  Rome 
and  his  reign  over  the  world,  and  will  come  to  a  final 
end  before  the  new  heaven  and  earth  arise.     It  may  be  also 
that  the  experience  of  Christians  at  this  time,  the  violence 
of  the  evil  power  and  the  persecutions  of  Rome,  made  it 

1  See  En.  67  :  9  ff.,  where  hot  springs  reveal  their  presence. 

2  See  the  Prayer  of  Manasses  2-4,  where  it  is  expressed  in  language  in  part 
related  to  the  passage  before  us  (Rev.  20  : 1-3). 

276 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

impossible  to  suppose  that  the  dragon  was  already  bound. 
The  conquest  over  him  made  through  the  birth  and  resur- 
rection of  Christ  was  only  heavenly.  He  was  cast  out  of 
heaven,  but  he  is  all  the  more  violent  and  desperate  on 
earth.  Yet  the  old  legend  of  his  being  temporarily  bound 
and  then  released  for  a  final  effort  and  then  destroyed, 
held  its  place  ;  it  was  only  pushed  down  in  time.  Satan 
would  be  bound  at  Christ's  second  coming,  and  would  be 
loosed  and  finally  conquered  and  destroyed  at  the  end  of 
the  millennial  era  and  the  beginning  of  the  new  heaven 
and  earth. 

The  most  important  conception  in  our  chapter,  and  one  The  thou- 
of  the  most  significant  in  the  whole  book,  is  that  of  the  thou- san  y' 
sand  years'  rule  of  Christ  and  the  risen  martyrs  on  earth. 
In  three  verses  (20  :  4-6)  the  basis  for  a  Christian  doctrine 
of  an  earthly  millennium  is  laid,  fateful  verses  which  have 
produced  one  of  the  least  useful  chapters  in  the  long  history 
of  Christian  thought.  As  in  the  case  of  so  much  else  in 
apocalyptical  writing,  we  must  see  the  meaning  and  esti- 
mate the  value  of  this  conception  by  a  study  of  its  origin 
and  development. 

The  original  Messianic  hope  was  wholly  earthly,  the  hope  Origin  of  the 
of  Israel's  future  power  and  prosperity,  the  recovery  of  its  in-  earthly  pre- 
dependence  as  under  David,  and  the  extension  of  its  power.  j^JvlniiT 
There  gradually  arose,  especially  from  Daniel  on,  a  more  consumma- 
transcendent  idea  of  the  promised  consummation.     More 
heavenly  features  were  added  to  the  description,  and  there 

277 


The  Messages  of  the 

was  a  tendency  to  detach  the  hope  altogether  from  earth. 
Now  the  idea  of  a  temporary  earthly  consummation  followed 
by  an  eternal  heavenly  one  was,  to  the  Jew,  simply  one  of  the 
ways  of  adjusting  the  new  conceptions  to  the  old,  of  pro- 
viding for  the  literal  fulfilment  of  Old  Testament  predic- 
tions and  nati  nal  ambitions,  and  yet  giving  a  place,  and 
the  chief  place,  to  the  heightened  and  more  supernatural 
expectations  that  had  more  lately  arisen.  There  were  other 
ways,  of  adjusting  the  old  and  the  new,  especially  that  of 
regarding  the  earthly  and  national  language  as  only  a  fig- 
ure of  which  the  reality  was  heavenly  and  spiritual.  But 
the  simpler  way  was  to  allow  old  and  new  to  remain  side  by 
side  by  making  one  follow  after  the  other,  and  making  the 
Messiah  the  chief  actor  in  the  first,  God  in  the  second.  So 
far  as  we  know  this  method  is  followed  first  in  the  Apoca- 
lypse of  Weeks,  in  Enoch  91 :  12  ff.  We  find  the  same  scheme 
in  Second  Esdras  7  :  28-29,  where  the  earthly  kingdom  is 
four  hundred  years  long ;  also  in  the  Apocalypse  of  Baruch 
40  :  3.  The  four  hundred  years  of  Second  Esdras  may  have 
arisen  out  of  a  combination  of  Genesis  15  :  13  and  Psalms 
90  :  15. 1  Israel  was  to  rule  as  king  as  long  as  it  had  served 
as  a  slave.  It  is  not  hard  to  explain  the  larger  number,  one 
thousand.  From  suggestions  in  the  Book  of  Jubilees  4  :  30 
and  the  Secrets  of  Enoch  ^t,  :  1-2,  it  appears  that  out  of 
Genesis  2  :  2  and  Psalms  90 :  4  the  idea  had  arisen  that 
world  history  would  run  its  course  in  one  heavenly  week, 

1  So  it  is  explained  in  the  Talmud  (Sank.  99). 
278 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

of  which  each  day  is  a  thousand  years.  The  Messianic 
age  could  easily  be  conceived  of  as  the  Sabbath  of  that 
week,  and  after  it  would  follow  the  unreckoned  and  eter- 
nal time  of  the  final  consummation.1 

There  are  some  peculiar  things  about  the  thousand  years'  Significance 
reign  in  Revelation  20,  that  put  us  in  doubt  as  to  its  precise  sand  Veals' 
value  in  the  writer's  mind.  He  does  not  need  this  earthly  author°  °Ur 
consummation  in  order  to  give  to  the  Messiah  his  office  as 
judge  and  king,  for  in  the  final  heavenly  consummation, 
though  God  is  judge,  yet  the  Messiah  still  has  a  place  on 
God's  throne  (22  :  1,  3).  Neither  does  he  need  the  earthly 
kingdom  in  order  to  find  a  fulfilment  for  the  predictions 
of  the  prophets,  for  he  follows  the  other  method  of  adjusting 
these  predictions  to  a  heavenly  consummation,  that  is  the 
method  of  figurative  interpretation.  His  description  of  the 
new  heaven  and  earth  is  made  up  of  Old  Testament  pro- 
phetic language  poetically  taken.  So  the  original  motives 
for  putting  an  earthly  before  the  heavenly  kingdom  are 
lacking.  It  would  seem  as  if  this  order  of  things  were 
given  either  in  Christian  2  or  in  Jewish  traditions,  and  that 
our  writer  follows  them.  We  can  perhaps  find  two  mo- 
tives that  may  have  influenced  him,  that  of  giving  a  dra- 
matic character  to  the  account  of  Satan's  end,  and  that  of 
providing  a  special  reward  for  the  martyrs.     The  concep- 

1  See  Secrets  of  Enoch  33  :  2,  and  cf.  En.  91  :  17. 

2  Paul  seems  to  prove  that  the  idea  had  been  adopted  from  Judaism  by 
Christians  long  before  the  time  of  our  book.  See  1  Cor.  15  :  20-28 ;  6  :  2,  3; 
also  Matt.  19  :  28. 

279 


The  Messages  oj  the 

tion  seems  to  be  that  while  the  chief  power  of  evil  is  re- 
strained, Christ  and  the  risen  martyrs,  by  their  rule  and 
judgment,  will  overcome  and  remove  the  remaining  evil  of 
the  world,  and  prepare  it  for  the  coming  of  God  and  the 
final  consummation.1 

How  literally  our  author  conceived  of  this  reign  of 
martyrs  with  Christ  who  that  takes  account  of  the  extent 
to  which  he  poetizes  will  venture  dogmatically  to  assert? 
Certainly  the  similar  promises  in  2  :  26,  27  ;  3  :  21,  in  their 
connection  and  in  comparison  with  other  parallel  promises 
(2  :  7,  17,  etc.),  do  not  suggest  a  literal  reigning  on  earth ; 
and  on  the  other  hand  according  to  1  :  6  and  5  :  10,  it 
would  seem  that  Christians  are  already  kings  and  priests 
to  God  (20  :  6). 
Significance  But  however  our  author  may  have  imagined  the  thou- 
ception°to  us  sand  years'  reign,  and  whether  he  shaped  it,  or  found  it 
already  present  in  the  midst  of  some  account  of  Satan's 
overthrow  which  he  wished  to  use,  we  ourselves  ought  cer- 
tainly to  value  it  only  for  the  distinctively  Christian  truth 
which  it  images  forth,  namely,  that  the  conquest  of  evil 
and  real  rulership  in  this  world  belong  to  Christ  and  to 
those  who  truly  belong  to  him.  Here  again  we  find  the 
essential  truth  of  the  apocalypses  to  be  contained  in  the 
Beatitudes  of  Jesus. 

1  This  at  least  seems  to  be  Paul's  conception  of  the  purpose  of  Christ's  reign 
(1  Cor.  15  :  20-28). 

280 


Apocalyptical  Writers 


20.   The  Fall  oj  Satan  (20 :  1-10) 

Then  I  saw  an  angel  come  down  and  seize  Satan,  the  The  binding 
first  tempter  of  man,  the  prime  spirit  of  evil,  and  chain  (!-3)tan 
and  lock  him  in  the  abyss  for  a  thousand  years,  after  which 
he  must  have  freedom  for  a  last  short  time.     Then  I  saw 
the  heavenly  court  of  Daniel's  vision,1  many  thrones  on 
which  as  judges  sat  not  angels,  but  Christian  martyrs,  The  earthly 
whom  Rome  had  killed  for  their  fidelity  to  Jesus.2    These  cnfist°and 
only  were  raised  from  the  dead,  having  the  peculiar  reward  ^martyrs 
of  sharing  in  the  thousand  years'  reign  of  Christ. 

When  this  is  ended  Satan  shall  be  loosed  and  shall  at-  Overthrow 
tempt  that  last  assault  upon  the  city  and  people  of  God  his  hosts a 
of  which  Ezekiel  wrote.3    But  when  the  hosts  of  Gog  and  ^7-I°^ 
Magog  which  he  leads  shall  surround  Jerusalem,  fire  from 
heaven  shall  consume  them  ; 4  and  Satan  himself  shall  be 
doomed  to  eternal  torment,  in  company  with  the  beasts, 
his  instruments,  the  Roman  empire  and  religion.5 

1  Dan.  7  :  9,  10. 

2  In  Daniel  also  it  is  the  saints  who  receive  the  kingdom  (7  :  18,  22,  27),  and 
among  them  are  risen  martyrs,  12  :  2,  3. 

3  Ezek.  38-39. 

4  Ezek.  38  :  22  ;  39  :  6.  In  Ezekiel  Gog  is  prince  of  the  land  of  Magog.  The 
reference  here  is  to  the  outstanding  barbarian  hordes  remaining  after  the  de- 
struction of  the  Roman  empire. 

5  This  final  miraculous  deliverance  of  the  Christian  community  fulfils  the 
many  predictions  of  Jehovah's  intervention  on  behalf  of  Jerusalem  in  its'ex- 
tremity  (e.g.,  Isa.  14  :  24-27  ;  17  :  12-14  ;  Ps.  46  ;  48).  The  whole  account 
(with  19  :  19-21  and  16  :  12-16)  is  closely  parallel  to  En.  56. 

28l 


The  Messages  of  the 


21.  The  Last  Judgment  -(20:  n-15) 

Final  resur-  Then  I  had  a  vision  of  God  on  his  throne,1  and  of  the 
judgment"1  ^ast  judgment  over  all  men,  according  to  their  deeds,  as 
(.n-15)  God  perfectly  knew  and  reckoned  them.2  All  the  dead 
without  exception  appeared  at  this  judgment.  This  is 
the  end  of  death  and  Hades,3  for  those  who  now  do  not 
enter  into  blessedness  will  suffer  no  longer  the  old  death, 
but  a  new  sort  of  death,  "the  lake  of  fire,"  which  swallows 
up  death  itself  and  all  the  powers  of  evil.4 


VI 

VISIONS    OF    THE    BLESSED    CONSUMMATION 

I.  Sources  and  Growth  of  the  Hope  of  the  New  Jerusalem 
Sources  and      The  description  of  the  final  blessedness  of  the  faithful, 

character  of       ....         ,  .    .  ,.,...  ,. 

thedescrip-  which  has  been  anticipated  m  brief  in  7  :  9-17,  as  well  as 

new  heaven  m  the  promises  to  him  that  overcometh,  in  chapters  2-3, 

and  earth     fa]js  jnto  two  partS)  2i  :  i-8,  which  has  the  character  of  a 

summary  of  what  follows,  and  bears  evidence  of  coming 

1  Cf.  Isa.  6  :  i ;   Dan.  7  :  9-10. 

2  For  the  image  of  the  heavenly  books  see  3  :  5  ",  13  :  8  ',  17:8,  "book  of 
life  ;  "  and  Dan.  7  :  10  ;  En.  90  :  20 ;  98  :  7  f. ;  104  :  7  ;  89  :  61-64,  68,  70  f., 
76  f. ;  47  :  3  ;  Apoc.  Baruch  24  :  1 ;   2  Esd.  6  :  20. 

3  The  prediction  of  the  end  of  death  in  the  Messianic  age  is  found  in  Isa. 
25  : 8,  and  in  Paul,  1  Cor.  15  :  26,  54  f. ;  cf.  2  Tim.  1  :  10. 

4  See  En.  90:  20-27,  a  similar  picture  of  the  judgment  over  angels  and  men. 

282 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

directly  from  our  author's  hand,  and  21 :  9-22  :  9,  the 
vision  of  the  heavenly  Jerusalem,  which  apart  from  a  few 
phrases  could  be  from  a  Jewish  as  well  as  from  a  Christian 
writer,  and  in  any  case  shows  dependence  on  a  traditional 
use  of  prophetic  language.  The  imagery  here  employed 
is  largely  taken  from  the  predictions  of  the  exilic  prophets, 
Ezekiel  and  Deutero-Isaiah,  regarding  the  return  and  the 
rebuilding  of  Jerusalem.  It  is  interesting  to  compare  this 
composition  with  Tobit  13,  where  a  somewhat  similar 
collection  of  Old  Testament  images  is  made.1  We  can 
imagine  one  whose  mind  was  steeped  in  the  Messianic 
language  of  these  prophets  using  their  language  in  a  free, 
poetic  way,  as  the  most  impressive  imagery  at  his  com- 
mand to  suggest  a  consummation  quite  unearthly  in  char- 
acter. It  is  evident,  after  chapter  20,  that  it  is  no  earthly 
hope  that  inspires  him.  It  is  only  in  a  new  heaven  and 
earth  that  the  fulfilment  of  the  prophetic  hopes  is  looked 
for.  Yet  the  language  of  sense  and  of  present  conditions 
is  used  as  the  only  language  available,  and  as  most  sug- 
gestive and  emotionally  impressive,  just  because  it  is  sacred 
and  ancient  and  familiar.  Two  things  then  are  important  Paths  to  a 
for  a  historical  appreciation  of  these  chapters.  One  is  to  standing  of 
bear  in  mind  me  constant  use  of  Old  Testament  language, the  cliaPters 
the  allusions  and  reminiscences  with  which  the  passage  is 
full.  The  other  is  to  feel  the  emotion  of  the  writer  and 
sympathize  with  his  effort  through  the  sense  symbols  that 

1  See  also  Ps.  Sol.  17  :  28  ff.,  and  Sibyl.  Or.  5  :  247-85,  4i4~33- 
283 


The  Messages  oj  the 

Scripture  and  tradition  offered  to  suggest  spiritual  and  in 
reality  inexpressible  joys.  The  underlying  reality  that 
gives  its  marvellous  power  to  this  accumulation  of  sensible 
imagery  is  that  which  also  in  Old  Testament  prophecy 
was  the  kernel  and  essence  of  hope,  the  presence  of  God 
and  the  expectation  of  a  real  vision  of  him  and  a  close 
communion  with  him  in  the  life  to  come. 
Rise  of  the  The  idea  of  the  heavenly  Jerusalem  is  one  whose  history 
of  aCheaven-  we  should  try  to  trace.  It  goes  back  to  the  simple  idea  of 
ly  Jerusa-  ^e  restoration  of  Jerusalem  after  its  first  fall.  But  Ezekiel, 
the  first  to  predict  the  restoration,  already  describes  the 
new  city  in  a  fashion  that  transcends  the  old  and  contains 
supernatural  features.1  The  prophet  sees  it  in  vision, 
and  an  angel  measures  it  and  explains  it.  The  new  city 
will  be  in  a  different  sense  from  the  old  the  dwelling-place 
of  the  glory  of  God.  Its  new  name  is  to  be,  "Jehovah  is 
there."  After  this  in  various  forms,  according  to  existing 
conditions,  the  idea  of  a  new  Jerusalem  belonged  to  the 
Messianic  hope.  Sometimes  it  was  only  the  hope  of  a 
morally  purified  Jerusalem,2  but  often  the  hope  contained 
suggestions  of  an  unearthly  glory.3  The  more  glorious 
the  new  city  was  imagined  to  be,  the  more  natural  to 
ascribe  it  directly  to  God's  workmanship,  and  finally  to 
think  of  it  as  already  made  in  heaven,  and  only  waiting 

1  Chs.  40-48.  2  Isa.  52  :  1  ;  cf.  Ps.  Sol.  17  :  25,  33- 

3  Isa.  54  :  ii,  12  :  60  :  10-14 ;  Jer.  31  :  38-40  ,  Hag.  2  :  7-9 ;   Zech.  2  :  1-5  ; 
cf.  Tobit  13  :  16-18 ;  14  :  5. 

284 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

to  be  revealed,  or  to  descend  to  earth.  The  idea  that  the 
new  city  is  the  direct  work  of  God  is  contained  in  Enoch 
90  :  28-29  ;  but  the  idea  of  a  pre-existing  heavenly  Jerusa- 
lem is  not  clearly  expressed  in  extant  Jewish  literature 
until  after  the  second  destruction  of  the  city  in  70  A.  D.1 
Paul,  however,  attests  the  currency  of  the  idea  before  that 
event  (Gal.  4:  26).  It  would  be  an  easy  step  from  this 
to  the  use  of  the  name  Jerusalem  for  heaven  itself,  when 
this,  and  not  the  earthly  city  however  glorified,  came  to  be 
regarded  as  the  final  abode  of  the  saints  with  God.2 

In  the  New  Testament  the  conception  appears  in  at 
least  two  different  forms.  In  Hebrews  11  :  10-16  ;  12  :  22  ; 
13  :  14,  it  is  not  a  heavenly  city  which  is  to  descend  to  earth 
in  the  Messianic  age,  as  in  Revelation  2 1  :  2  ;  2 1  :  9  ff . ;  3  :  1 2, 
but  it  is  the  heavenly  counterpart  of  the  earthly  city,  the 
eternal  reality  of  which  the  literal  city  is  but  a  shadow;  it 
is,  in  other  words,  spiritualized  and  has  become  a  name 
of  the  heavenly  world  itself.  Perhaps  Paul's  idea  in  Gala- 
tians  4 :  26  is  rather  that  of  Hebrews  than  that  of  Reve- 
lation. But  even  in  Revelation  the  heavenly  city  remains 
heavenly  in  character  though  it  descends  to  earth.  The 
new  earth  is  to  him,  in  substance,  hardly  more  than  a  name 
for  heaven. 

One  root  of  this  conception  may  be  found  in  the  idea 
of  the  heavenly  patterns  of  the  Tabernacle  and  its  fur- 

1  2  Esd.  7  :  26  ;  13  :  36  ;  8  :  52  ;  10  :  44-59  '.  Apoc.  Bar.  4  : 2-6  ;  32  :  2-4. 

2  See  Secrets  of  Enoch  55  :  2. 

285 


The  Messages  o)  the 

nishings  (Ex.  25  :  9,  40)  ;  another  in  the  gradual  supernat- 
uralizing  of  the  Jewish  hope  ;  and  still  another  in  the  Hel- 
lenistic (Platonic)  idea  of  heavenly  counterparts  of  earthly 
things.  Out  of  such  various  roots  we  should  not  expect  a 
very  simple  and  consistent  product. 

The  measurements  of  the  city  and  its  wall  (21  :  16-17) 
are  hard  to  explain.  The  conception  of  a  city  in  the  shape 
of  a  cube,  1,379  miles  in  each  direction,  surrounded  by  a 
wall  216  feet  high,  is  little  else  than  grotesque.  In  Ezekiel, 
on  whose  description  our  writer  depends,  the  new  city 
measures  4,500  cubits  square,  that  is  about  7,875  feet,  or 
a  mile  and  a  half.1  It  has  been  suggested  that  our  author 
conceived  of  the  city  as  on  the  top  of  a  great  mountain  (cf. 
Isa.  2  :  2)}  It  is  possible,  however,  that  the  word  "height" 
is  a  gloss  added  by  someone  who  did  not  picture  the  city 
at  all,  but  regarded  the  description  as  purely  symbolic, 
and  so  wished  it  to  have  the  perfect  symmetry  of  the  Holy 
of  Holies  in  the  temple.  It  may  be  worth  noting  that 
if  the  earthly  Jerusalem  were  made  the  centre  of  a  great 
city,  1,379  miles  square,  it  would  just  include  Asia  Minor 
on  the  west  and  north,  Babylon  on  the  east,  and  Egypt,  far 
below  Thebes,  on  the  south.  Could  the  author  have  im- 
agined that  the  new  Jerusalem  would  be  a  great  city  cov- 
ering almost  the  whole  world  of  Jewish  and  Christian 
history  except  Italy  and  Greece  ? 3    This  would  involve 

1  Ezekiel's  cubit  is  probably  if  feet  (40  :  5).      2  Also  Ezek.  40  :  2  ;  43  :  12. 
3  Perhaps  Rome  was  thought  to  involve  these  countries  in  its  destruction. 

286 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

the  removal  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea  (21:1).  EzekiePs 
vision  involved  a  transformed  Palestine,  but  this  would 
mean  a  transformed  earth. 

If  this  suggestion  is  not  acceptable,  and  if  the  number, 
12,000,  is  original,  we  must  suppose  that  the  author  did 
not  mean  to  describe  an  imaginable  city,  but  was  using 
language  in  a  purely  symbolical  sense. 

In  general  our  writer  uses  the  familiar  Messianic  Ian-  Poetic  value 
guage  of  the  Old  Testament,  in  a  wholly  figurative  sense,  °t's  pict°P 
without  minding  the  inappropriate  and  inconsistent  char-  ^^  the 
acter  of  its  literal  meaning.  All  men  have  received  their 
final  reward  (20  :  11-15),  and  heaven  and  earth  have  passed 
away  (21  :  1),  and  yet  the  writer  can  speak  of  nations  and 
kings  and  their  gifts,  and  can  describe  what  must  be  a  heav- 
enly consummation  in  the  language  in  which  the  prophets 
described  Palestine  in  the  hoped-for  time  of  its  glory.  Such 
language  was  the  best  the  writer  knew  by  which  to  convey 
his  hope.  It  was,  indeed,  fitted  to  convey  only  the  emo- 
tion of  his  hope,  not  its  intellectual  contents.  Just  this  is 
indeed  its  value  still  for  us.  We  have  no  better  language 
than  his  in  which  to  suggest  the  inconceivable  glory  and 
blessedness  of  the  final  life  of  the  soul  with  God.  It  is 
actually  to  our  great  advantage  that  the  Jewish  prophets 
and  poets  expected  an  earthly  consummation,  for  they  were 
able  to  give  to  this  a  vivid,  concrete  emotional  expression, 
and  the  language  of  beauty  and  feeling  in  which  they  voiced 
their  hope  is  a  far  more  adequate  expression  of  our  more 

287 


The  Messages  of  the 

ideal  aspirations  than  we  could  create  for  ourselves.  Fig- 
urative language  is  the  only  language  in  which  we  can  ex- 
press our  hope  of  heaven,  and  no  figures  can  have  greater 
power  to  suggest  this  hope  than  those  taken  from  the  literal 
longings  of  exiled  Israel  for  the  recovery  of  its  land  and 
city. 

2.  Pictures  of  the  Life  to  Come  (21 :  1-22 :  9) 

The  new  I  saw  a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth,  the  old  having 

eardTand  Passed  away,1  and  the  sea  was  no  more.2  And  I  saw  the 
^y  _  .  heavenly  Jerusalem  descending  as  the  bride  of  Christ. 
This  image  was  interpreted  to  me  by  an  angelic  voice  as 
God  dwells  meaning  that  God  would  now  dwell  among  men  3  and  re- 
(21  -3^4)      move  from  them  all  sorrow,4  bringing  the  first  things  to  an 


end,  and  making  all  new. 


God  attests       God   himself  affirmed   that    he   now   makes  all   new,6 

the  truth  of  .  ,,., 

this  expecta-  and  charged  me  confidently  to  write  that  the  fulfilment 
(21  :  5-8)     is  come,  declaring  himself  to  be  the  first  and  the  last 7  and 

1  Isa.  65: 17 ;  66  :  22.  For  the  idea  of  the  destruction  of  heaven  and  earth 
see  Isa.  34  :  4 ;  51  :  6  ;  En.  45  :  4  f. ;  72  :  1 ",  91  :  16  ;  2  Esd.  7  :  31,  and  com- 
monly in  the  Xew  Testament. 

2  This  striking  conception  may  go  back,  to  the  idea  of  the  ocean  as  the  orig- 
inal power  of  chaos,  the  element  of  the  great  spirit  of  evil. 

3  This  is  the  ultimate  aim  of  the  Old  Testament  law,  and  the  sum  of  the 
Old  Testament  hope.  Lev.  26  :  11,  12  ;  Ezek.  37  :  27  ;  43  :  7  ",  Ex.  25  :  8 ; 
29  :  45  ;  Zech.  2  :  10-n  ',8:3. 

4  Isa.  25:8;   35  :  10  ;   65  :  19.  5  Isa.  65  :  17  ;  66  :  22. 

6  Isa.  43  :  19  ;  cf.  2  Cor.  5:17. 

7  Here  of  God  as  in  Isa.  44  : 6  ;  48  :  12  ;  in  1  :  17 ;  2  : 8 ;  22  :  13,  of  Christ. 

288 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

the  giver  of  the  water  of  life  to  the  thirsty.1  The  con- 
queror shall  be  heir  of  such  things,  and  I  will  be  his  God 
and  he  my  son.2  But  the  part  of  all  who  deny  their  Chris- 
tian faith  and  of  all  the  impure  and  sinful  will  be  in  the 
lake  of  fire,  the  place  of  Satan  and  his  servants,3  the  second 
death. 

As  one  of  the  angels  of  the  bowls  had  shown  me  in  a  Vision  of  the 
vision  Rome,  the  harlot-city,  and  her  overthrow,  so  one  of  Jerusalem 
them  now  shows  me  from  a  mountain-top  *  the  Jerusalem  (2i:9-22:q) 
that  is  to  descend  from  God,  the  pure  bride  of  Christ.    The  Descent  of 
glory  of  God  was  hers,5  so  that  she  was  illuminated  by  a^i^u) 
white  sparkling  light  like  that  of  a  diamond,6   the  light 
that  best  symbolizes  the  presence  of  God  (4 :  3). 

It  has  great  walls,  and  twelve  gates,  three  on  each  side  its  structure 
of  its  square,  each  bearing  the  name  of  one  of  the  twelve 
tribes,7  and  twelve  foundation  stones,  one  for  each  part 
between  the  gates,  on  which  were  the  names  of  the  twelve  its  meas- 
apostles.     And  the  angel  measured  the  city  with  a  golden  (21:15-17) 
reed,8  and  found  it  a  cube,  12,000  stadia,  1,379  miles,  in 

1  Isa.  55  :  i. 

2  2  Sam.  7  :  14 ;  and  see  Ps.  8g:  26-27  ;  Zech.  8:8,  and  many  Old  Testament 
passages.     Also  2  Cor.  6:16. 

3  See  14:9-11;  Matt.  25:41;   En.  90:26;  48:9;  Secrets  of  Enoch  10;  cf. 
Isa.  66 :  24. 

4  See  the  opening  of  Ezekiel's  vision  of  the  restored  Jerusalem,  40: 2. 

6  In  Ezek.  43:2,  4,  5,  the  glory  of  Jehovah,  that  is  his  manifest  presence, 
enters  the  new  city  and  takes  up  its  abode  in  the  temple  ;  cf.  Isa.  60: 1-3. 

6  This  and  not  our  jasper  is  probably  meant. 

7  This  is  from  Ezek.  48 :  31-34.  8  Ezek.  40: 3. 

289 


res$ages  oj  the 

I  height 
h  height,  human  and  angelic  measures  being 
the  same. 
The  wall  was  of  diamond,  ami 

rive  foundation  stones 
adorn  the 
pi  ich  of  the  t  ngle  pearl,  and 

-anspaitnt  gold- 
There  b  no  temple  -alera  be 
self  and  Christ  are  there  ;  *  nor  b  there  need  of  otr 

.--.  nations  shall 
£1  bring  I 

■ 

I 

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..•eh 

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■       -  -        - 

-     - 

■ 

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=*aoe»  taA  trififT  fcfe.  *ad  »ot  -  .*-s*  t&one 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

Yet  shall  nothing  unclean  enter  it1  nor  any  who  are  not 
destined  to  eternal  life. 

The  river  of  running  water  which  Ezekiel :  saw  issu-  The  river 
ing  from  the  temple  I  beheld  flowing  from  the  throne  ( per-  rfKfc* 
haps  from  the  transparent  sea  before  the  throne,  4  :  6");  and  {":  l~z) 
along  the  middle  of  the  streets  of  the  city  and  on  both  sides 
of  the  river  grew  the  tree  of  life,  that  was  in  Eden  (2:7), 
bearing  fruit  twelve  times  a  year,  for  the  twelve  tribes  I  i.e., 
for  the  whole  community  of  believers  .  the  fruit  being  for 
food  and  the  leaf  for  healing.3 

And  there  shall  be  no  more  curse.4  and  God  himself  and  The  blessed 
Christ  shall  be  there5  and  his  servants6  will  serve  him, 
and  see  him  ;  and  bear  his  name  |  7  :  3-4  ;  14  :  1).     And 
there  where  there   is  no  night,-   in  the  constant  light  of 
God,  they  shall  live  and  reign  forever.9 

1  Isa.  52 : 1 :  Ezek.  44:9:  Isa.  35:8  ;  60:21 ;  Joel  5  :  17  :  Zech.  14:20.  31; 
Ps.  Sol.  17:  20,  31,  33,  36. 

3  The  picture  of  the  river  going  from  the  throne  and  the  trees  by  its  banks  is 
taken  from  Ezekiel's  vision  of  the  ever -broadening  stream  issuing  from  the 
temple  (47:  1-12)  and  from  Zech.  14:8. 

3  This  is  all  taken  from  Ezek.  47:12.  cf.  En.  25 :  4-0. 

4  Zech.  14:  11  ;  cf.  En.  91:17;  02:5;   107:1. 

5  On  the  dwelling  of  God  with  men  in  the  Messu-.ic  age  see  Ezek.  37:26, 
27.43:-  .  Zech.  2 :  10 ;  8:3;  En.  62:14;   :  4-6  ;  Rev.  -    •  r      - . 

6  It  appears  as  if  "and  of  the  Lamb"  were  added  to  an  older  description, 
for  the  singular  number  follows,  his  servants,  etc     The  same  sugges:: 
natural  in  21:22.  2;:   22:1. 

7  See  Ps.  17:15;  11: 7,  and  such  hopes  as  Ps.  16: 1 1  (  1: a  ;  -ee 
M-itt.  5:  S  ;   1  John  3:  2.                       ■  Isa.  60: 19-20  .  Zech.  14    I 

9  See  Dan.  7 :  18,  27.     So  the  blessed  life  in  the  final  consummation  can  still  be 

291 


The  Messages  of  the 

The  certain-      The  angel  gave  new  assurance  of  the  truth  of  this  reve- 
ness^of  these  lation,  and  the  immediacy  of  its  fulfilment  (i  :  i)  adding,  as 
F™™1-?)       ^  ^  were  Christ  himself  who  spoke  in  the  angel,  Behold 
I  come  quickly   (3:  11).     Blessed  is  he  who  keeps  this 
The  angel    prophecy  (i  :  3).     And  I  John  (1  :  9),  when  I  heard  and 
worshipped   saw  these  things,  would  again  worship  the  revealing  angel, 
(22:8-9)       wj1Q  seemecj  the  very  spirit  of  Christ,  but  he  again  refused 
my  adoration  (19  :  10),  and  identified  himself  rather  with 
us  who  are  prophets  and  with  all  faithful  fellow  Chris- 
tians.    God  only,  he  said,  is  to  be  worshipped.1 


Nearness 
and  finality 
of  Christ's 
judgment 
(22: 10-15) 


VII 

CONCLUDING  WARNINGS  AND  PROMISES  (22  :  IO-2l) 

And  he  said,2  do  not  seal  this  book  and  keep  it  secret, 
for  it  concerns  no  distant  day,3  but  must  be  read  at  once. 

called  a  reigning,  as  was  that  of  the  martyrs  in  the  iooo  years,  20:  6.  In  Wisd. 
Sol.  6  :  19-21,  there  is  an  interesting  passage  in  which  "reigning  forever"  is 
parallel  to  being  near  unto  God  and  apparently  a  symbol  for  it. 

1  It  is  evident  that  here,  as  in  Col.  1-2,  and  Heb.  1-2,  there  is  a  polemic 
against  a  current  angel  worship. 

2  In  w.  10-19,  though  at  first  we  should  suppose  the  angel  to  be  speaking, 
it  is  evident  that  the  speaker  is  Christ  himself.  The  whole  book  indeed  is  put 
forth  as  Christ's  revelation  through  an  angel  (1 : 1),  so  that  the  angel's  person- 
ality could  easily  lose  itself  in  that  of  him  whose  message  and  voice  he  was 
The  words  of  10-15  could  equally  well  be  those  of  God. 

3  The  sealing  of  an  apocalypse  belonged  to  the  pseudepigraphic  device.  It 
explained  how  it  could  be  that  a  book  which  assumed  to  be  written  so  long  ago 
was  only  now  known  and  read  (Dan.  8 :  26  ;   12 :  4,  9). 

292 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

Everyone  must  now  keep  the  character  he  has  gained,1 
the  time  both  for  repentance  and  for  apostasy  being  past, 
for  now  I  come  to  reward  each  according  to  his  deeds.2 
As  creation  was  my  work,  so  also  will  judgment  be.3  Blessed 
are  those  who  are  pure  and  so  have  access  to  life  and  bless- 
edness, from  which  all  the  impure  are  cut  off  (21  :  8).         The  book 

.  contains  the 

I,  Jesus,  am  the  one  who  has  revealed  all  this  through  message  of 
my  angel,  I  who  am  the  promised  Messiah  and  the  chief  seifUS   Im 
of  heavenly  beings.4  (22 :  l6^ 

The  divine  spirit  of  prophecy  and  the  church  unite  in  is  a  free  in- 
inviting  all  men  to  the  blessedness  of  eternal  life.5  aiu^1- !°) 

I,  the  writer,6  affirm  that  one  who  adds  to  or  takes  from  The  words 
this  book  will  be  excluded  from  eternal  life.  are  inviola- 

Christ,  the  real  author  of  this  revelation,  affirms  again,  £ .  ^-.l9) 

•  The  end  is 

1  Cf.  Dan.  12  :  10  ;  Ezek.  3  :  27.  2  Isa.  40  :  10 ;  62  :  n  ;  Ps.  62  :  12,  etc.  near 

3  See  1:17;  2:8;  Isa.  44  :  6  ;  48  :  12.     The  attribute  of  eternity  is  carried  ^22    2°' 
over  from  God  to  Christ.     See  also  2  Esd.  5  :  56-6  :  6. 

4  Cf.  Num.  24  :  17. 

5  Isa.  55  : 1 ;  John  7:37;  4-  M- 

6  It  is  not  improbable  that  this  extreme  curse  was  added  by  an  editor.  It 
is  an  unfortunate  ending  of  a  book  whose  value  consists  in  the  spirit  that 
breathes  in  it,  the  bold  faith  and  confident  hope  it  inspires,  rather  than  in  the 
literalness  and  finality  of  its  disclosures.  Such  claims  belong  to  law  (see 
Deut.  4:2;  12  :  32)  rather  than  to  prophecy,  in  which  there  is  always  a  large 
conditional  element  and  a  free  play  of  imagination.  We  may  suppose  that 
some  reaction  against  such  eschatology  as  this  book  contains,  or  the  opposi- 
tion of  a  different  hope,  more  spiritual,  or  perhaps  more  friendly  to  Rome 
(2  :  20),  occasioned  this  addition.  The  apocalyptical  literature  was  pecul- 
iarly liable  to  alterations  and  perversions  in  the  interest  of  rival  sects,  such  as 
are  referred  to  In  Enoch  104  :  10-13. 

293 


The  Messages  of  the  Apocalyptical  Writers 

I  come  quickly ;  and  the  response  of  his  believing  servants 
is,  Yea,  come,  Lord  Jesus.1 

The  benediction  (as  in  the  letters  of  Paul)  closes  the 
book. 

1  We  have  the  Aramaic  phrase  which  was  in  current  use  to  express  this  eager 
longing  of  primitive  Christianity,  Maranatha,  "our  Lord  come,"  in  i  Cor. 
16:22,  and  as  part  of  the  liturgy  of  the  Lord's  Supper  in  Didache  10  :6. 
A  like  longing  and  prayer  for  the  coming  of  God  moved  the  Israelitish  psalm- 
ists and  prophets  in  like  times  of  peculiar  trial.  See  Isa.  62  : 1 1 ;  40  :  10 ; 
Ps.  50 : 3 ;  96  :  13  ;  98 : 9 ;  101 :  2  ;  70  : 5  ;  38  :  22. 


294 


■i  \ 


UNCANONICAL    APOCALYPSES 


UNCANONICAL    APOCALYPSES 


INTRODUCTION 


In  order  to  understand  the  apocalyptical  literature  in  its 
form,  its  material,  and  its  spirit  and  purpose,  it  is  essential 
to  extend  one's  reading  beyond  the  limits  of  the  canon. 
The  attempt  is  made  here,  therefore,  under  limitations 
which  will  be  readily  appreciated,  to  give  some  impression 
of  the  character  and  contents  of  the  most  important  Jewish 
apocalypses  and  the  only  Christian  one  which  made  seri- 
ous claims  to  a  place  in  the  canon. 

Among  the  tasks  that  our  limits  do  not  permit  us  to  The 
undertake,  one  seems  to  call  for  a  word  of  explanation,  of  apoca- 
After  the  study  of  the  apocalypses  proper  it  would  be  in  Jgjgjg  in 
order  to  investigate  the  apocalyptical  elements  in  other  Gospels  and 
New  Testament  books,  especially  in  the  Gospels  and  in 
the  Epistles  of  Paul,  and  to  seek  to  determine  the  place 
of  apocalyptical  conceptions  in  the  mind  of  Christ  and 
among  the  moving  forces  of  primitive   Christianity.     If 
we  regarded  Matthew  24,  with  Isaac  Williams,  as   "the 
anchor  of  apocalyptic  interpretation,"  or,  as  Alford  adds, 
as  "the  touchstone  of  apocalyptic  systems,"  we  could  not 

297 


The  Messages  oj  the 

omit  in  any  study  of  the  Book  of  Revelation  to  set  forth 
its  relationship  to  this  chapter.  Alford  assumes  that  our 
Lord  here  gives  in  clear  outline  the  main  points  of  the  his- 
tory of  the  church,  and  he  regards  Revelation  as  essentially 
an  expansion  of  this  primary  and  authoritative  Christian 
apocalypse.  But  in  the  present  state  of  historical  studies 
in  the  Gospels  it  is  not  possible  to  proceed  on  the  assump- 
tion either  that  this  chapter  was  uttered  in  its  present  form 
and  sequence  by  Jesus,  or  that  he  made  any  forecast  that 
reached  beyond  the  fall  of  Jerusalem  and  the  Jewish  state. 
The  problem  is  involved  in  such  difficult  critical  complica- 
tions that  a  summary  treatment  of  it  is  impracticable.  It 
cannot  be  separated  from  the  whole  great  subject  of  the 
Messianic  and  apocalyptical  elements  in  the  thought  and 
teaching  of  Jesus.1  It  must  suffice  here  to  remind  ourselves 
that,  at  all  events,  Jesus  certainly  appeared  and  preached 
openly,  like  the  prophets  of  old  ;  that  he  did  not  write 
books,  nor  regard  himself  as  called  to  be  an  interpreter  of 
books  ;  that  he  neither  hid  himself  nor  made  a  mystery  of 
his  teachings  or  an  esoteric  sect  of  his  disciples  ;  that  he 
found  good  already  stronger  than  evil  in  the  world  ;  that 
he  worked  for  the  salvation  of  his  people  from  sin  rather 
than  waiting  for  their  salvation  from  Rome,  whose  rule, 
indeed,  he  did  not  think  inconsistent  with  the  rule  of  God  ; 

1  Muirhead's  Eschatology  0}  Jesus  (London,  1904)  may  be  recommended  as 
a  cautious  and  scholarly  treatment  of  some  of  the  elements  involved  in  this 
great  problem. 

298 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

that  he  was  not  anxious  for  the  morrow,  nor  curious  about 
the  day  of  the  Lord's  coming ;  and  that  he  rebuked  the 
spirit  of  ambition  and  of  revenge.  All  this  means  that 
his  spirit  and  his  message  were  essentially  prophetic  in  dis- 
tinction from  apocalyptic  in  character.  On  the  other  hand 
it  remains  true  and  significant — and  the  following  brief 
survey  of  uncanonical  apocalypses  will  make  this  only 
clearer — that  the  Jewish  apocalyptical  world  of  fancy  and 
feeling  entered  deeply  into  the  mind  and  heart  of  early 
Christianity 

II 

THE    BOOK  OF  ENOCH 

I.  Some  Points  about  the  Book 

The  Book  of  Enoch  is  the  most  important  pre-Christian  importance 
Jewish  apocalypse,  and  as  it  arose  between  Daniel  and  of  Enoch° 
Revelation  and  casts  much  light  on  the  development  of 
this  sort  of  literature  it  is  not  out  of  place  to  attempt  a 
somewhat  full  account  of  its  contents. 

It  is  not  a  single  book,  but  a  collection  of  writings  in  Composition 
the  name  of  Enoch,  giving  the  revelations  he  received  when  oFthe'bS 
he  walked  with  God  concerning  the  mysteries  of  the  angel 
world,  the  forces  and  operations  of  nature,  the  future  judg- 
ment and  the  consummation.     There  are  also  a  number 
of  insertions  that  belonged  to  another  line  of  apocalyptical 

299 


. 


■ 
rvunUn  - 

yii.  - 

- 
.1 

*    ..       '      ,  ..Mi 

.Mi; 

-      •' 

S     x    .'1      <.     U- 
:.\.-\      liL 

'       I 
•.v.-uin.-i.  W        h: 

-. 

. 


pMOHKtr        ■-..■//:•>    tr-fl     — rr.  . .'.      rhr   rsrrr    evil    .<■-,.;  !•;.-.-     -.-,• 
nMmft     r/     .'hr    irnfrnrmr''    iirr     r«rtr»if7    a    Taimr. 


.•.-.-. 


-     -c 


The  Messages  q)  the 

account  of  Adam's  fall.  The  section  falls  into  two  parts. 
In  chapters  6-n  Enoch  is  not  mentioned  and  there  seems 
to  be  no  place  for  his  mediatorship,  which  is  a  chief  theme 
of  chapters  12-16.  The  former  section  may  belong  to  a 
Noah-circle  of  apocalyptical  tradition.  It  is  itself  com- 
posite. In  one  part  Semjaza  is  leader  of  the  fallen  angels, 
in  another  Azazel.  Evidently  the  subject  was  a  favorite 
one,  and  was  much  worked  over. 

Our  brief  paraphrase  will  not  enter  into  the  question 
of  analysis,  but  will  simply  show  how  our  writers  treated 
the  theme  and  answered  various  questions  which  are  not 
dealt  with  in  Genesis,  though  the  original  story  must 
have  included  them,  such  as  the  deeds  and  destiny  of  the 
giants,  the  punishment  of  the  angels,  the  effects  of  their 
transgression  upon  man.  It  will  be  noticed  that  these 
effects  include,  besides  the  misleading  of  the  women,  the 
teaching  of  forbidden  and  harmful  secrets,  acts  of  violence, 
and  the  production  of  demons,  permanent  mischief-makers 
among  men. 

(1)  The  Sin  and  Punishment  0}  the  Angels  (6-1 1) 

The  fall  of        Certain  angels  resolved  to  gratify  their  unnatural  lust 

t^eange       after    human    women.      Under    Semjaza,    two    hundred 

bound  themselves  by  an  oath  to  fulfil  this  purpose.    They 

descended  in  the  days  of  Jared  l  upon  the  top  of  Mount 

1  The  father  of  Enoch  (Gen.  5  :  15-20).     There  is  a  play  on  words  here. 
Jarad,  to  descend  =  Jared. 

302 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

Hermon,  so  called  because  of  their  oath  (her em).  They 
took  wives  and  taught  them  enchantments  and  medical 
lore.  Their  sons  were  giants  of  prodigious  size,  who  ate 
up  man's  gains  and  began  to  eat  man  himself.  They 
were  the  incarnation  of  foulness  and  violence. 

The  angels  also  taught  men  the  arts  of  war,  and  of  lux-  Teachings 
urious  living,  and  of  magic.  ^}the  angels 

The  cry  of  men  in  their  distress  reached  the  four  arch-  The  prayer 
angels,  who  recounted  the  evil  deeds  of  Azazel  and  his  pressed  fo) 
associates  and  of  the  giants  before  God,  and  interceded 
with  him  on  behalf  of  men. 

God  charged  one  of  them,  Rafael,  to  bind  Azazel  and  Imprison- 
confine  him  under  rocks  in  the  desert  until  the  day  of  judg-  ^eisand 
ment,  and  to  heal  the  earth  of  his  corrupting  works.     Ga-  thaeyg"fn°g 
briel  is  charged  to  bring  destruction  upon  the  giants  by  (IO  :  I_is) 
inciting  them  to  a  murderous  warfare  against  one  another. 
Their  angel  fathers  will  witness  their  destruction  before 
they  are  themselves  bound  under  the  hills,  from  which 
they  will  be  loosed  only  to  be  destroyed  at  last  in  the  abyss 
of  fire.1     After  the  angel  has  destroyed  all  violence  and 
evil,  the  Messianic  age  will  dawn.     Then  the  righteous  The  Messi- 
will  have  long  life  and  many  children,  vines  and  olive  trees  (10  :'l6_ 
will  bear  abundantly,  and  all  seed  a  thousand  fold,  right-  Ii:2) 
eousness  will  be  universal,  and  all  nations  will  worship 
God.     Then  heavenly  blessings  will  descend  upon  men. 

1  See  Jude  6  ;  2  Pet.  2  :  4. 

3°3 


The  Messages  oj  the 


(2)  Enoch's  Mission  to  the  Angels  (12-16) 

Enoch  goes  Enoch  was  "walking  with  the  Elohim  "  !  when  one  of 
judgment  to  them  charged  him  to  announce  to  the  fallen  angels  God's 
( 12  iT-r^  3)  approaching  judgment.  He  went  therefore  and  told  Azazel 
and  the  others  that  they  were  to  be  bound  for  their  sins 
against  men.  Then  they  prayed  Enoch  to  petition  God  on 
He  brings      their  behalf,  for  sin  had  shut  them  off  from  God's  presence. 

V)  1  c Ic  in  in~ 

tercession  on  So  he  wrote  their  petition  and  read  it,  sitting  by  the  river 
03^  4-?o)f  Dan  [Judgment],  until  he  received  an  answer  in  a  dream 

vision.     He  then  came  and  told  it  to  them. 
He  reports        The  answer  is  that  the  petition  is  not  granted.     These 
result  erf  his  angels  are  never  again  to  ascend  into  heaven.     After  seeing 
intercession  ^e  destruction  of  their  sons  they  are  to  be  bound  in  the 

earth. 

His  vision  of     The  vision  is  then  told  in  detail.     Enoch  is  transported 

14       into  heaven.     This  is  a  place  of  fire  and  light,  splendid 

and  terrible  in  its  shining  glory.     God  himself  cannot  be 

seen  or  approached  even  by  the  angels  who  stand  before 

him,  but  is  surrounded  by  fire.      Yet  even  this  God  with 

his  own  mouth  summoned  and  addressed  the  man  Enoch. 

and  God's     He  charged  him  to  tell  the  fallen  angels  that  they  ought 

the  angels0  to  intercede  for  men,  not  men  for  them.     Their  sin  was 

(15-16)        most  unnatural,  for  marriage  and  children  were  meant  for 

1  Gen.  5  :  22-25  was  understood  of  his  intercourse  with  angels.  Notice  the 
striking  conception  of  a  man  interceding  for  angels  and  becoming  the  revealer 
to  them  of  the  meaning  and  consequences  of  their  sins. 

3°4 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

those  who  are  subject  to  death,  not  for  immortal  spirits.1 
And  now  the  giants,  offspring  of  this  unnatural  union,  half 
human,  half  divine,  will  become,  after  the  death  of  their 
mortal  bodies,  evil  spirits,  demons,  doing  all  sorts  of  harm 
to  men,  until  the  last  judgment. 

4.  Visions  of  the  Secrets  of  Nature  and    of  the  Future 

(i7-36) 
Chapters  17-36  describe  Enoch's  journeys  through  earth 
and  the  unseen  realms  and  the  secrets  of  nature  and  of  the 
places  of  future  punishment  and  reward  which  were  revealed 
to  him.  Here  also  are  two  partly  parallel  and  perhaps 
independent  accounts,  17-19  and  20-36.  In  the  second, 
chapter  22  is  isolated  and  peculiar.  It  is  an  account  of 
Hades  in  which,  in  accordance  with  Greek,  but  not  with 
Hebrew  notions,  preliminary  rewards  and  punishments  are 
experienced  by  the  souls  of  the  dead.  On  the  other  hand, 
in  chapter  25  the  Messianic  age  is  described  in  the  simple 
earthly  form  we  have  met  in  chapters  5  and  10-11.  All 
this  makes  it  appear  that  the  book  is  a  collection  rather 
than  an  original  composition. 

(1)  Enoch's  First  Journey  (17-19) 
In  the  first  journey  (chs.  17-19)  Enoch  saw  the  secret  Hisvi.^itto 

the  secret 

places  of  thunder  and  lightning,  the  great  ocean  stream,  p]aCesof 
and  all  the  waters  that  are  about  and  beneath  the  earth,  heaven™1 
'Cf.  Matt.  22:30.  (17-19) 

3°5 


The  Messages  of  the 

He  saw  the  chambers  of  the  winds,  the  corner-stone  of  the 
earth  and  the  four  winds  on  which  earth  and  heaven  rest 
as  on  pillars,  and  the  winds  that  turn  the  sky  about  and 
those  that  bear  the  clouds.  He  visited  the  seven  wonder- 
ful mountains  in  the  south,  of  which  the  middle  one  was 
like  God's  throne  ;  and  finally  the  terrible  places  where 
heaven  and  earth  end,  and  where  the  seven  stars  that  have 
transgressed  their  orbits  J  are  imprisoned,  together  with  the 
fallen  angels  of  Genesis  6,  whose  wives  will  become  sirens. 

(2)  Enoch's  Second  Journey  (20-36) 

His  further  In  the  second  journey  (chs.  20-36), after  giving  the  names 
?2?ousf  myS"  and  offices  of  the  six  (seven  ?)  archangels  (ch.  20),  Enoch 
tniiTs and  describes  first  the  place  where  the  seven  transgressing  an- 
gels are  bound,  and  the  final  place  of  punishment  of  angels 
(ch.  21).  He  then  sees  Hades  as  a  place  with  four  divi- 
sions, two  for  the  righteous  and  two  for  the  wicked.  The 
pleasantest  place,  with  a  spring  of  water  in  it,  was  for  the 
righteous  who  have  unjustly  suffered  in  this  life  ;  and  the 
worst  place  was  for  the  wicked  who  have  unjustly  pros- 
pered. The  rest  of  the  wicked,  those  who  have  already 
on  earth  been  punished  for  their  sins,  will  not  rise  at  the 
judgment,  nor  suffer  any  severer  penalty.2    He  then  sees 

1  "Wandering  stars,"  Jude  13.  This  seems  to  be  one  of  the  various 
myths  based  on  the  seven  irregularly  moving  heavenly  bodies,  sun,  moon,  and 
five  planets,  known  to  antiquity. 

2  This  chapter  is  interesting  as  being  the  oldest  picture  of  Hades  in  Jewish 
writings  which  makes  it  properly  an  intermediate  state,  and  one  with  a  posi- 

306 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

(ch.  23)  the  fiery  river  (milky  way  ?),  and  the  seven  moun- 
tains where  God's  throne  is,  encircled  by  trees,  one  of 
which  is  the  tree  of  life,  which  in  the  coming  age  will  be 
transplanted  to  Jerusalem,  and  give  long  life  and  gladness 
to  the  righteous  (24-25).  He  then  sees  Jerusalem  where 
the  righteous  are  to  dwell,  and  the  valley  of  Hinnom  where 
they  will  behold  God's  just  judgments  on  apostate  Jews 
(26-27).  Then  travelling  eastward  past  mountains  with 
trees  of  various  properties  (28-31)  he  comes  to  the  Garden 
of  Eden  with  the  tree  of  wisdom  of  which  Adam  and  Eve 
ate  (32).  Then  he  goes  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  first  on 
the  east  where  were  the  gates  through  which  the  stars 
came,  whose  names  and  laws  the  angel  taught  him  (^)  ; 
then  on  the  north  with  three  gates  for  the  north  winds  (34). 
There  are  like  portals  for  the  winds  in  each  direction,  and 
at  the  east  (and  west  ?)  small  gates  above  them  for  the 
stars  (35-36). 

5.  The  Book  of  Astronomy  (72-82) 

Here  Enoch  gives  the  courses  of  the  luminaries  of  heaven,  studies  of 
their  classes,  their  dominion  and  seasons,  their  names  and  oftheheav- 
places  of  origin,  as  Uriel  showed  them  to  him.     In  brief cnly  bodies 
this  crude  attempt  at  science  treats  first  of  the  sun  and 
explains  the  varying  lengths  of  day  and  night  through  the 
year,  and  the  varying  positions  of  the  sun  (72).    Then  the 

tive  contents  of  good  and  ill,  or  better  and  worse,  for  the  "spirits"  or  "souls" 
of  men.     Greek  influence  is  probable  here. 

307 


The  Messages  oj  the 

perplexing  course  of  the  moon  is  taken  up  and  an  elabo- 
rate attempt  made  to  adjust  it  to  that  of  the  sun  (73-74). 
Then  intercalary  days  are  treated,1  and  further  details 
about  the  sun  and  its  varying  warmth  (75). 

The  twelve  portals  of  the  winds  are  explained  and  the 
different  powers  and  effects  of  each  of  the  twelve  winds 
(76).  The  four  quarters  of  the  earth  are  described,  and 
the  seven  great  mountains,  rivers  and  islands  (77).  The 
writer  then  returns  to  the  sun  and  moon,  especially  the 
latter's  waxing  and  waning  (78-79).  So  far  his  interest 
seems  to  be  solely  in  the  observation  and  explanation  of 
the  facts,  to  which  he  has  evidently  given  much  study.  But 
the  underlying  interest  even  here  is  eschatological  and 
Sin  in  nature  ethical.  So  he  now  goes  on  to  explain  that  nature  does 
not  altogether  observe  these  laws — the  facts  do  not  wholly 
match  his  theories — and  this  is  due  to  sin,  which  has  in- 
troduced an  element  of  perversity  and  disorder  into  nature 
itself  2  (80).  It  is  revealed  to  Enoch  that  it  is  safe  to  hold 
to  righteousness  and  that  the  wicked  will  surely  die  (81). 
Enoch  then  commends  his  books  and  their  wisdom  to  his 
son,  affirms  the  truth,  against  those  who  deny  it,  of  his  reck- 
oning of  the  year  as  364  days,  and  of  his  whole  angelic 
astronomical  system  (82). 

1  The  writer's  year  is  364  days. 

2  Compare  Rom.  8  :  19-22  ;  and  see  2  Esd.  5  :  1-13. 


308 


Apocalyptical  Writers 


6.  The  Dream  Visions  (83-90) 

In  two  dreams  Enoch  foresaw  the  whole  course  of  human 
history.  The  first  is  a  vision  of  the  Flood,  after  which  he 
prays  for  the  survival  of  the  righteous  seed  (chs.  83-84). 
The  second  vision  is  an  allegory  of  the  history  of  man  from 
the  beginning  to  the  end.  Behind  a  self-evident  though 
clumsy  and  inartistic  disguise  of  figure,  the  Old  Testament 
history  is  summarized.  The  most  interesting  parts  of  The  seventy 
this  vision  concern  the  seventy  angel  shepherds,  and  the  J2nces 
problem  of  determining  just  what  conditions  were  present 
to  the  author,  and  so  fixing  his  date.  Just  before  the  de- 
struction of  Jerusalem  by  the  Chaldeans  (about  the  time 
of  Jeremiah's  prediction  of  a  seventy  years'  exile,  Jeremiah 
25  :  12  ;  29  :  10),  God  gave  the  Israelites  into  the  keep- 
ing of  seventy  angels,  each  of  which  was  to  have  charge 
for  a  fixed  time  (89  :  59  ff.).  It  is  evident  that  in  some 
way  these  angels  represent  the  foreign  kings  to  whom  the 
Jews  were  subject.1  They  are  commissioned  to  chastise 
Israel,  but  they  overpass  their  charge  and  afflict  the  people 
beyond  the  measure  of  God's  purpose.  All  this  excess  is 
recorded  against  them  in  the  heavenly  books.  God  does 
not  now  restrain  them,  but  he  will  punish  them  hereafter. 
This  transgression  of  the  angels  of  foreign  kingdoms  is 
the  explanation  of  the  evils  that  Israel  suffered  from  the 
exile  onward.     The  seventy  shepherds  rule  in  four  groups 

1  They  may  be  called  "depotentiated  heathen  gods"  (Beer). 

3°9 


The  Messages  of  the 

of  12,  23,  23  and  12.  The  first  group  covers  the  Exile  itself. 
The  twenty-three  seem  to  stand  for  Persian  rule  from  the 
rebuilding  of  the  temple  (89  :  72)  to  the  conquest  of  Alex- 
ander (90 :  2).  The  third  group,  beginning  with  Alex- 
ander, extends  to  a  time  not  definitely  fixed  during  the 
Greek  (Ptolemaic  and  Seleucid)  rule,  when  the  last  group 
is  introduced  by  the  birth  of  some  Jews  who  "began  to 
open  their  eyes  and  to  cry"  to  their  fellow-countrymen 
(90  :  6).  This  is  evidently  the  beginning  of  the  enlightened 
and  protesting  sect  or  party  to  which  our  writer  belongs.1 

Indications    The  verses  that  follow  (90 :  7  ff.)  are  hopelessly  obscure. 

cr'^dat?  They  should  reveal  the  situation  and  date  of  the  writer,  but 
unless  the  Greek  text  is  found  their  riddle  will  probably 
remain  unanswered.  One  notable  martyr  is  alluded  to 
(90:  8)2,  and  then  a  great  leader  of  the  writer's  party  is 
described  (90 :  9  ff.),  whom  some  identify  as  Judas,  some 
as  John  Hyrcanus,  but  who  may  be  a  later  hero.  If  the 
party  is  that  of  the  Pharisees,  verse  9  might  refer  to  their 
gaining  power  through  admission  to  the  Sanhedrim.  The 
great  leader  is  described  almost  as  a  warrior  Messiah,  such 
as  the  Messiah  son  of  Joseph  in  later  tradition.  His  wars 
lead  directly  over  to  the  Day  of  Jehovah  (v.  18),  which  fol- 
lows the  period  of  the  last  twelve  shepherd-angels.     It 

Schtirer  thinks  these  the  Maccabees  (165  B.  C),  Charles,  the  Chasidim, 
who  originated  some  time  earlier,  about  200  B.  C,  when  the  Seleucid  displaced 
the  Ptolemaic  rule  over  Palestine. 
2  Onias  III,  the  high-priest,  or  Eleazar,  the  Chasid  martyr  of  2  Mac.  6  ? 

31O 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

would  seem,  therefore,  that  the  writer  was  either  a  con- 
temporary of  this  leader  and  his  wars,1  or  predicts  his  rise 
as  close  at  hand.  It  is  not  possible  to  date  the  book  by 
this  passage  in  the  present  condition  of  the  text. 

According  to  the  writer's  forecast,  God,  who  has  helped  Eschato- 
the  great  warrior  (v.  15),  himself  comes  in  judgment  after  u°resCa  eat" 
the  seventy  angels  have  ruled  in  turn.  The  righteous  are 
given  power  to  slay  their  enemies  (90  :  18-19). 2  Then  the 
last  judgment  takes  place,  first  over  the  sinning  angels  of 
Genesis  6,  and  over  the  seventy  angels  of  Israel's  foreign 
oppressors,  who  were  cast  into  a  fiery  abyss  ;  then  over 
apostate  Jews  who  are  punished  in  the  like  fiery  valley  of 
Hinnom  near  Jerusalem  (90  :  20-27). 

Then  God  removes  the  old  Jerusalem  and  puts  a  new 
and  greater  Jerusalem  in  its  place,  in  which  he  himself 
dwells  (90 :  28-29).  The  heathen  who  remain  do  homage 
to  Israel.  Enoch  himself  and  Elijah  are  brought  from 
Paradise  to  join  the  Messianic  community.  Righteousness 
and  peace  prevail,  and  all  are  enlightened  with  the  saving 
wisdom  which  at  present  only  the  few  possess  (90 :  30-36). 
Then  the  Messiah  is  born  and  becomes  the  acknowledged 
head  of  the  community  (90  :  3  7-38). 3 

1  Hence  Charles  puts  this  section  in  166-161,  the  period  of  Judas.  But  this 
is  quite  certainly  too  early. 

2  This  period  of  the  sword,  often  referred  to  in  chs.  94-104,  stands  between 
two  divine  judgments,  and  answers  in  general  to  the  millennial  period  in 
Rev.  20  :  4-6. 

3  The  secondary  place  here  given  to  Messiah  perhaps  confirms  the  possi- 

311 


The  Messages  of  the 


7.  The  Apocalypse  of  Ten  Weeks  (93,  91 :  12-17) 

Amiilenna-       This  little  apocalypse   of  world   history   is    especially 

tologyC  a"    important  because  it  is  the  earliest  that  clearly  follows 

the  millennarian  scheme.    It  is  independent  of  the  section 

The  course    in  which  it  occurs,  and  we  cannot  determine  its  date.1    The 

o  iustory     g^  wee^  cioses  with  Enoch,  the  second  with  Noah,  the 

third  with  Abraham,  the  fourth  with  Moses,  the  fifth  with 

Solomon's  temple,  the  sixth  with  the  Exile,  the  seventh 

contains  the  evil  post -exilic  period,  closing  with  the  rise 

of  the  party  or  circle  of  the  righteous  and  wise,  to  whom 

the  writer  belongs,2  those  whose  wisdom  the  apocalypses 

contain.3 

The  following  weeks  are  future.  The  eighth  is  the  period 
of  the  sword,  when  present  conditions  will  be  reversed, 
and  the  righteous  will  slay  the  wicked.  At  its  close  the 
Messianic  age  will  begin  and  the  new  Jerusalem  will  be 
built.  The  ninth  week  is  an  epoch  of  missionary  preach- 
ing, when  the  coming  judgment  will  be  declared  to  the 
world,  and  all  men  will  be  converted  to  righteousness. 

bility  that  the  writer  expected  two  Messiahs,  and  that  the  warrior  who 
belongs  to  this  world  age  and  whose  coming  is  at  hand  is  to  him  the  more 
Interesting  figure. 

1  Beer  makes  it  one  of  the  oldest  parts  of  the  book,  pre-Maccabean.  But 
it  is  probably  much  later. 

2  Corresponding  to  90  :  6. 

3  A  summary  of  this  seven-fold  wisdom  follows  (93:  n-14),  which  in  spite 
of  critical  objections  may  Lelong  to  this  little  apocalypse. 

312 


Outline  of 
the  future 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

The  tenth  week  ends  in  the  final  judgment  which  is  ap- 
parently only  over  angels.  A  new  heaven  seven  times 
brighter  than  the  old  will  appear,  and  there  will  follow 
numberless  periods  of  righteousness. 

8.  The  Book  of  Woes  and  Consolations  (91  :  i-n  ;  92  ; 
94-104  [or  105]) 

This  is  one  of  the  most  important  sections  in  the  book. 
It  is  not  distinctively  apocalyptical  in  form,  but  is  admon- 
itory. Its  hopes  and  faiths  are,  however,  those  funda- 
mental to  this  literature.  The  situation  and  the  mood 
are  of  the  apocalyptical  type.  This  book  comes  out  of  a 
definite  situation,  and  it  can  be  more  securely  dated  than 
any  other  part  of  Enoch.  It  is  clearly  a  Pharisaic  writ- 
ing against  the  Sadducees,  at  a  time  when  the  latter  are 
in  power  and  the  former  despised  and  persecuted.  This 
points  to  the  latter  part  of  the  reign  of  John  Hyrcanus 
(135-104  B.  C),  or  to  that  of  Alexander  Jannasus  (103- 
76  B.  C).  The  date  is  probably  before  the  turn  in  the 
fortunes  of  the  Pharisees  under  Alexandra  (76-67  B.  C), 
and  certainly  before  the  fall  of  the  Maccabean  house  at 
the  hand  of  Rome,  in  63  B.  C.  There  are  verses  that 
look  as  if  the  conflict  of  the  two  parties  had  been  raging 
long  {e.g.,  103  :  9-15).  Such  bloody  persecution  of  the 
Pharisees  as  the  book  describes  belongs  rather  to  the 
second  than  to  the  first  of  tijhe  two  reigns  given  above. 

This  comes  nearer  to  being,  like  Daniel  and  Revelation, 

3!3 


The  Messages  of  the 


Apostates 
will  be 
judged,  and 
the  righteous 
rewarded 


Woes 

against  the 
rich  and 
powerful 
and  unbe- 
lieving 


a  book  for  martyrs  than  any  other  part  of  Enoch  ;  but  here 
the  persecutors  are  not  foreign  powers,  but  the  Jewish 
rulers.  The  character  of  Pharisaism  in  this  period  of  its 
weakness  and  struggle,  and  that  of  the  Sadducees  as  Phari- 
sees judged  them,  may  be  vividly  realized  by  reading  this 
section.     A  brief  summary  follows. 

Enoch  foretells  the  apostasy  of  many  Jews  and  the  op- 
pression of  the  righteous,  but  assures  his  sons  of  the  judg- 
ment of  God  upon  the  sinners,  and  of  the  resurrection  and 
eternal  life  of  the  righteous  (91  :  1-10  ;  92).  He,  therefore, 
admonishes  them  to  hold  fast  to  righteousness,  and  to  resist 
the  temptation  to  acquire  wealth  and  power  by  violence 
and  deceit.  He  utters  solemn  woes  against  the  rich  who 
trust  in  riches  and  forget  God  (94).  Their  success  and 
prosperity  are  indeed  a  hard  problem,  but  their  sins  will 
surely  bring  destruction  upon  them,  and  the  righteous  will 
one  day  have  power  and  take  their  revenge  (95-96).  Only 
faith  is  necessary.  The  prayer  of  the  righteous  will  reach 
the  Lord  and  his  judgment  will  be  its  answer.  The  evil 
deeds  of  the  wicked  are  known  in  heaven  and  no  escape 
is  possible.  The  riches  which  they  have  heaped  up  and 
on  which  they  rely  will  vanish  and  will  be  unavailing  (97). 
They  are  living  lives  of  effeminate  luxury  and  of  bound- 
less extravagance.  Their  sin  is  wholly  their  own,  and 
they  cannot  excuse  themselves  by  arguing  its  necessity. 
All  their  sins  are  recorded,  and  they  cannot  comfort  them- 
selves by  affirming  that  God  keeps  no  reckoning.     The 

3*4 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

day  of  judgment  will  be  for  them  a  day  of  death,  not  of  life, 
at  the  hand  of  God  and  of  the  righteous  whom  they  now 
oppress  (98).      They  write  books  to  justify  their  viola- 
tions of  law  and  right.1     There  are  coming  days  of  war- The  coming 
fare  and  of  extreme  want,  of  bloodshed  and  of  gross  idol-  distress 
atry  and  superstition  with  its  fruits  of  ignorance  and  fear. 
When  such  days  come  blessed  are  those  who  hold  to  the 
wisdom  and  righteousness  of  God.     Those  on  the  other 
hand  who  make  gains  by  deception  and  by  oppression, 
who  violate  the  law  and  traditions  of  Israel  and  are  in- 
clined to  idolatry  will  be  destroyed  (99).     Brothers  will 
slay  brothers  and  fathers  sons,  and  unheard-of  violence 
will  prevail.     But  judgment  will  come  upon    the  angels 
who  introduced  sin,  and  upon  sinners.    The  righteous  will  The  inter- 
be  guarded  from  this  divine  judgment,  and  even  if  they  die  judgment 
they  need  have  no  fear.     Those  who  see  the  truth  of  the  am] lts  Ju.st 

'  and  mevi- 

teachings  of  this  book  will  know  that  riches  cannot  save  table 
them  from  punishment.     The  righteous  may  suffer  mar- 
tyrdom even  by  fire,  but  fire  shall  hereafter  burn  their 
persecutors.     Nature  itself  shall  testify  against  them,  and 
shall  disclose  God's  judgment  against  them  (100). 

The  sight  of  nature's  mighty  powers,  and  of  their  obedi- 
ence to  the  command  of  him  who  made  them,  ought  itself 
to  bring  sinners  to  fear  him  (101).  They  will  indeed  fear 
him  when  he  comes  in  judgment,  but  it  will  then  be  too 
late  to  escape  his  wrath.     The  righteous  may  die  in  trouble, 

1  This  Sadducean  literature  has  not  survived. 
31-5 


The  Messages  oj  the 

Over  against  so  that  sinners  declare  that  death  is  alike  for  all,  and 
ticismeof  the  that  righteousness  has  no  advantage  (102).     But  the  seer 
iTthecer-     swears  tnat  he  knows  and  has  seen  in  the  heavenly  books 
tain  hope  of  that  the  spirits  of  the  righteous  have  a  joy  and  glory  far 
forimmor-    beyond  that  of  the  living,  and  an  immortal  life  in  God's 
presence.     On  the  other  hand  sinners  who  die  after  a  long 
life  of  prosperity  and  honor  will  have  tribulation  in  Hades. 
Their  spirits  will  enter  a  fiery  prison-house. 
The  present      The  complaint  of  the  righteous  is  indeed  a  grievous  one. 
the  righteous  They  suffer  every  evil,  and  are  in  daily  peril  of  their  lives 
xs  great         at  tne  nan(js  of  their  enemies.     They  hoped  as  of  right  to 
be  first  in  the  community,  but  are  last.     They  have  labored 
hard  for  influence,  but  have  not  gained  it.     They  are  sub- 
jected to  the  dominion  of  those  that  hate  and  oppress  them. 
There  has  been  no  chance  or  place  for  escape.     They  have 
appealed  to  their  rulers  for  redress,  but  the  rulers  have 
given  support  to  those  who  oppressed  them  (103). '    All 
this  is  true  but  it  is  not  the  whole  truth.     It  is  true  on  earth, 
but  in  heaven  angels  intercede  for  the  righteous  and  their 
but  it  will      names  are  before  God.     Soon  they  will  be  glorious  as  the 
an  end         stars,  and  like  them  will  have  access  to  heaven.     Their 
joy  will  be  like  that  of  angels.     There  they  will  dwell  far 
removed  from  the  dreadful  judgment  that  is  to  visit  the 
earth.     Let  not  the  righteous,  then,  destined  to  be  com- 
panions of  the  heavenly  hosts,  be  tempted  by  the  pros- 

1  The  Maccabean  kings  naturally  sided  with  the  Sadducees,  since  they 
formed  essentially  the  party  of  the  ruling  house. 

316 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

perity  of  sinners  to  associate  with  them  and  imitate  them.  The  hope  of 
They  do  indeed  say  that  their  sins  are  not  recorded,  and  SS**5' 
they  alter  [Enoch  ?]  books  and  write  books  of  their  own  to  JieluA° 
prove   heathenish   lies.1     But  when   as  here   the   Enoch 
writings  are   faithfully   transmitted  and  translated  [into 
Aramaic  and   Greek?]  they  will  be  to   the   righteous  a 
source  of  wisdom  and  joy. 

The  concluding  reference  to  the  duty  of  those  who  pos- 
sess these  books  to  guide  and  admonish  men,  and  the 
promise  of  the  presence  of  God  and  his  Son,  Messiah,  with 
men  in  the  coming  age  of  peace,  is  regarded  by  some  as  a 
later  addition  (ch.  105). 

9.  Concluding  Sections  (106-108) 

Chapter  106-107  *s  Part  of  the  Noah-apocalyptical  tra-  The  marvei- 
ditions,  namely  an  account  of  the  marvellous  birth  of  Noli, 
Noah,  who  appears  more  like  an  angel  than  like  a  man.  (Io6_I°7) 
Enoch,  who  is  still  living,  interprets  the  sign  to  the  per- 
plexed father  and  grandfather  of  the  child.    Noah  is  thus 
marked  as  destined  to  be  the  survivor  when  the  earth  is 
destroyed. 

Chapter  108  is  more  nearly  in  line  with  94-104,  but  car- 
ries further  the  ascetic  contempt  of  this  life  which  could 

1  We  learn  from  the  New  Testament  and  Josephus  that  the  Sadducees  de- 
nied the  existence  of  angels  and  spirits,  and  a  life  of  rewards  and  punishments 
after  death.  The  tone  of  the  affirmations  of  this  book  on  these  subjects  shows 
how  hot  the  debate  was  in  regard  to  the  reality  of  the  spirit  world  and  of  the 
life  to  come.    The  discussion  was  evidently  carried  on  in  books  on  both  sides. 

3*7 


The  Messages  oj  the 


Asceticism 
and  its  re- 
ward 
(108) 


Importance 
of  this 
section 


Against  for- 
eign foes 


easily  result  from  the  extreme  other  worldliness  of  that  sec- 
tion. Here  the  spirits  of  the  humble,  who  afflict  their 
bodies,  are  especially  recompensed  by  God.  They  loved 
God  and  did  not  love  earthly  goods.  They  gave  their 
bodies  to  torture,  despising  them  and  the  food  that  sus- 
tained them,  and  by  such  asceticism  purified  their  spirits ; 
and  having  proved  that  they  loved  heaven  more  than  earth, 
and  having  had  shame  and  abuse  on  earth,  they  will  be 
enthroned  in  heavenly  glory.1 

10.   The  Similitudes  oj  Enoch  (37-71) 

This  is  to  us  the  most  important  part  of  the  Book  of 
Enoch,  because  of  its  picture  of  the  pre-existent  heavenly 
Messiah,  who  is  destined  to  come  as  judge  of  men  and 
angels.  Of  all  the  Jewish  apocalypses  this  would  seem  to 
offer  by  far  the  most  help  in  the  effort  to  understand  the 
Messianic  consciousness  of  Jesus,  or  at  least  the  earliest 
interpretation  of  his  office  and  nature.  Yet  this  section 
offers  great  difficulties  to  the  historian. 

It  is  entirely  distinct  in  character  from  the  rest  of  the 
book.  It  appears  to  come  from  a  different  situation,  one 
in  which  the  enemies  of  God  and  his  people  are  not  Jewish 
apostates  but  foreign  kings  and  rulers.  In  this  important 
respect  it  is  like  Daniel  and  Revelation.     It  is  significant, 

1  This  ascetic  piere  is  regarded  as  Essenic  by  many,  and  evidently  does 
contain  Essenic  elements.  The  dualistic  contrast  of  body  and  spirit  is  not 
native  to  the  Jews  but  is  probably  of  Greek  origin. 

318 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

therefore,  that  the  writer  returned  more  directly  to  Daniel 
than  the  other  Enoch  writers  did.  The  most  distinctive 
part  of  his  work  consists  in  an  elaboration  of  Daniel  7. 

The  book  is  not  dated  by  any  clear  reference  to  a  his-  Uncertain 
torical  event,  but  on  the  whole  the  latter  part  of  the  reign  date 
of  Herod  the  Great  seems  to  be  the  most  probable  time  of 
its  origin.  "The  mighty  kings  and  high  ones  who  possess 
the  earth"  would  then  be  Augustus  and  Herod  and  other 
vassal  kings  under  Rome.  Some  think  that  native  Jewish 
kings,  the  late  Maccabean  rulers,  are  meant,  but  the  phrase 
cited  would  not  fit  them,  and  the  description  of  their  arro- 
gant denial  of  God  and  their  impious  and  unjust  deeds  is 
like  the  condemnation  of  the  heathen  king  Antiochus  in 
Daniel.1  One  sentence  which  seems  to  imply  native  rulers 
(46  :  8)  is  justified  by  Herod's  pretensions  to  Judaism.2 

It  is  true  that  this  date  is  no  more  than  probable.  We 
should  expect  definite  references  to  Herod  or  to  Rome, 
which  we  do  not  find.  But  for  some  reason,  whatever  his 
situation,  the  writer  chose  to  make  his  references  to  the  ene- 
mies of  the  righteous  community  vague  and  general,  and 
it  is  especially  easy  to  conceive  of  reasons  for  this  reserve 
in  the  reign  of  the  suspicious  and  despotic  Herod. 

We  may  assume  then  that  this  writing  comes   from  a 

1  Compare  En.  46: 5-7  with  Dan.  4: 17-25,  30-32  ;  5: 18-21  ;  8  :  10-11. 

2  It  seems,  however,  that  the  verse  means  that  the  kings  persecute  the 
Jewish  synagogues,  not  that  they  will  themselves  be  expelled  from  them 
(Fleming). 

3J9 


The  Messages  oj  the 

General  sit-  time  when  the  Sadducees  were  no  longer  in  power,  when 
the  whole  people  were  again  feeling  the  oppression  of  the 
heathen,  and  hoping  for  a  Messiah  whose  judgment  would 
be  more  universal  than  the  Roman  empire  itself,  and  his 
reign  one  whose  glory  would  put  to  shame  the  kings  who 
possess  the  earth. 
The  book  The  Similitudes  have  not  been  perfectly  preserved  in 
pre^rved  y  our  book.  There  are  several  obvious  interpolations  from 
the  Noah  circle  of  tradition  (39  :  1,  2a  ;  54  :  7-55  12;  60  ; 
65-69  :  25),  and  there  are  evidences  that  parts  of  the  origi- 
nal have  been  lost.  There  is  a  peculiar  addition  (ch.  71), 
which  identifies  the  Messianic  "Son  of  Man  "  with  Enoch 
himself.  This  serves  at  least  to  prove  the  thoroughly 
Jewish  character  of  the  whole  book.  Even  the  inter- 
polations are  not  Christian. 

(1)  The  First  Similitude  (37-44) 

The  three  so-called  Similitudes  all  treat  the  Messianic 
time  though  from  somewhat  different  points  of  view.  The 
first  deals  chiefly  with  the  future  dwelling-places  of  the 
righteous  which  are  now  in  heaven,  but  are  destined  for 
those  who  now  believe  in  their  existence,  hidden  though 
they  are,  those  who  believe  in  the  world  of  spirits  and  in 
God  the  "Lord  of  spirits."  Sinners  are  those  who  deny 
the  spiritual  world,  and  when  the  heavenly  places  are 
manifested  at  the  day  of  judgment,  they  will  be  excluded 
from  them  and  will  have  no  abiding-place. 

320 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

Enoch  is  translated  into  heaven  and  here  he  sees  these  Vision  of  the 
future  dwelling-places  of  the  righteous.     They  are   now  ^piace?"" 
occupied  by  angels,  who  intercede  for  men,  and  by  the of  the  right 
Messiah  ;  and  these  with  God  himself  will  hereafter  be  the 
companions  of  holy  men.1     It  is  a  place  not  of  dreadful  fire 
and  dazzling  splendor  (ch.  14),  but  of  righteousness  and 
peace,  where  one  would  long  to  abide.2     Enoch  sees  the 
innumerable  hosts  of  spirits  who  inhabit  this  place,  the 
four  presences  that  are  nearest  to  God,  and  other  secrets 
of  heaven  and  of  the  divine  rule  over  men  and  in  nature. 
Among  the  inhabitants  of  heaven  he  sees  also  the  divine 
Wisdom,  which  found  no  dwelling-place  on  earth  and  re- 
turned to  her  place  with  the  angels,3  while  unrighteousness 
came  to  live  among  men. 

(2)  The  Second  Similitude  (45-57) 

The  second  Similitude  is  announced  (45  :  1)  as  "con 
cerning  those  who  deny  the  name  of  the  dwelling  of  the 
holy  ones  and  the  Lord  of  spirits,"  and  the  third  (58 :  1) 
as  "concerning  the  righteous  and  elect."     These  titles  do 

1  The  present  place  of  the  righteous  dead  is  not  heaven,  but  the  Garden  of 
Eden  in  the  northwest  (61:12;  70 : 3-4). 

2  It  is  not  clear  whether  the  righteous  are  to  ascend  to  heaven,  or  the  places 
to  descend  to  earth.  The  latter  seems  to  be  affirmed  in  45: 4-5;  51:5,  but 
see  30:6-7;  45:2,6;  51:4;  62:14-16  (?). 

3  Compare  the  deviating  idea  of  Ecclesiasticus  24: 1-23  and  Baruch  3:9- 
4:4,  according  to  which  Wisdom  found  her  place  in  Israel  and  is  identical 
with  the  Law. 

321 


The  Messages  of  the 

not  well  describe  the  contents  of  what  follows.     The  prin- 
cipal subject  of  the  second  Similitude  is  the  Messiah,  the 
destined  judge. 
The  pre-  In  accordance  with  Daniel  7,  Enoch  sees  God,  the  An- 

heaveniy  cient  of  Days,  and  with  him  one  like  a  man.1  Asking  who 
anThfs^om-  "that  man "  IS>  ^e  *s  told  that  it  is  the  man  of  supreme 
ing  as  judge  righteousness  and  wisdom,  whom  God  has  chosen  to  over- 
throw the  kings  of  the  earth  for  their  ungodly  claims,  their 
injustice,  idolatry,  denial  of  God  and  persecution  of  the 
Jews  (ch.  46).  The  seer  then  has  a  vision  of  that  coming 
judgment.  Its  first  stage  is  purely  heavenly  (ch.  47).  In 
answer  to  the  prayers  of  the  righteous,  God  takes  his  seat 
on  the  throne  of  judgment  surrounded  by  the  angelic  hosts, 
and  the  books  are  opened  before  him.  Then  "that  man" 
is  summoned  before  God  to  receive  his  commission  as  the 
executor  of  judgment.  This  was  not  the  beginning  of  his 
existence,  for  he  was  created  before  the  sun  and  stars.  He 
is  destined  to  be  the  support  of  the  righteous,  the  light  of 
the  heathen,  the  hope  of  the  distressed,  and  at  last  the 
adored  of  all.2  But  even  now  he  is  the  saviour  of  those  to 
whom  God  has  revealed  him,  who  because  of  their  faith 
in  him  have  hated  this  unrighteous  world.3 

1  The  phrase  "son  of  man,"  which  in  Hebrew  means  simply  "a  man,"  is 
certainly  not  a  title  in  Dan.  7:  13,  and  apparently  not  yet  in  Enoch.  It  is 
"that  man,"  that  is  the  man  of  Daniel's  vision,  who  is  here  described. 

2  Cf.  Isa.  42:6  ;  40:6;  51:4;  45:23  ;  Phil.  2: 10. 

3  Notice  the  saving  power  of  the  prophet's  faith  in  a  coming  divine 
deliverer.     Faith  in  him  already  enables  men  to  overcome  the  world. 

322 


Apocalyptical  Writer 3 

With  the  approach  of  judgment  terror  seizes  the  kings  The 
of  the  earth.  Destruction  will  come  upon  them  because  of  judgment 
their  denial  of  God  and  Messiah  (48).  The  fitness  of  this 
heavenly  Messiah  for  his  task  is  due  to  his  abundant  en- 
dowment with  the  divine  spirit  of  wisdom,  so  that  he  knows 
the  secrets  of  every  heart  (49).  There  still  remains  for 
sinners  a  last  chance  for  repentance  at  sight  of  the  glory 
now  resting  upon  the  holy  (50).  Then  follows  the  resur- 
rection of  the  dead,  and  the  redemption  of  the  righteous, 
who  will  become  [like?]  angels  in  heaven  and  will  dwell 
with  the  Messiah  on  the  redeemed  earth  (51). 

Enoch  then  sees  evidences  of  the  power  of  the  Messiah  its  inevi- 
and  the  inevitableness  of  his  judgments  upon  the  wicked,  and  finality 
Neither  can  wealth  bribe  nor  war  resist  him  (52).  The 
gifts  of  the  wicked  will  not  avail.  Their  punishment  is 
sure,  and  with  their  end  peace  for  the  congregation  of  the 
righteous  (53).  The  valley  of  fire  prepared  for  Azazel  and 
his  hosts  will  be  the  final  place  of  the  kings,  Satan's  sub- 
jects, who  have  misled  men  (54).  Both  angels  and  men 
are  to  be  judged  by  the  Messiah  (55).  After  a  vision  of 
the  angels  of  punishment  follows  a  description  of  the  last 
assault  of  Eastern  kings,  incited  thereto  by  angels,  against 
Jerusalem.1  There  they  will  turn  against  one  another  and 
be  destroyed  (56).  Then  comes  another  mighty  army  from 
east  and  west  and  south,  whose  noise  will   be   heard   in 

Charles's  reasons  for  making  56:5-57:3   a  later  insertion  are  not  con- 
vincing.   It  is  a  fixed  part  of  apocalyptical  tradition  based  on  Ezek.  38,  39. 

323 


The  Messages  of  the 

heaven  and  will  shake  the  earth,  an  army  of  those  who  will 
worship  God  at  Jerusalem.1 

(3)  The  Third  Similitude  (58-69) 

The  reward       The   third   Similitude   "concerning  the  righteous   and 
eous6  "S  l    the  elect"  is  marred  by  long  interpolations,  and  the  original 
form  can  hardly  be  regained.     The  righteous  will  have 
eternal  life  and  will  ever  seek  and  increasingly  find  light 
and  righteousness,  as  they  search  in  heaven  for  the  secrets 
now  accessible  there  and  the  treasure  faith  is  now  heir  to 
(58).     A  vision  assures  the  seer  of  the  universality  of  the 
Messiah  as    resurrection  of  the  righteous  dead  (61  :  1-5).    He  then  sees 
mgmththe  the  Messiah  seated  on  God's  throne,  judging  even  the  holy 
and  UieUS      angels — so  exalted  is  his  authority — and  all  the  angels  of 
sinful  heaven  and  the  Messiah  himself  join  in  blessing  and  glori- 

fying God  (61 :  6-13).  Then  follows  the  judgment  over 
men  on  earth.  Again  God  seats  the  Messiah  on  his  own 
throne,  and  by  his  judicial  sentence  he  slays  all  sinners.2 
Terror  shall  seize  the  kings  and  mighty  of  earth  as  they 
see  "that  man"  sitting  on  the  throne  of  his  glory.  Then 
too  late  they  will  acknowledge  him,  who  was  hidden,  and 
was  revealed  only  to  the  elect,  and  will  pray  for  mercy.  But 
they  will  be  thrust  from  his  presence  in  shame,  and  he 
will  give  them  to  the  punishing  angels  because  of  their 

1  Perhaps  heathen  converts  rather  than  the  Jews  of  the  dispersion,  accord- 
ing to  Isa.  2 : 2-4  ;  Zech.  8 : 20-23. 

2  As  in  Rev.  19:  15,  21. 

324 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

persecution  of  the  righteous,  and  they  will  be  destroyed 
in  the  sight  of  those  whom  they  oppressed.  But  the  right- 
eous will  dwell  forever  under  the  favoring  care  of  God 
and  in  the  companionship  of  "that  man,"  clothed  with 
garments  of  glory  and  life  (62). 

Then  the  mighty  ones  from  their  place  of  punishment 
will  glorify  the  Lord  of  spirits  and  confess  their  sin  in  not 
believing  in  him,  but  trusting  instead  in  their  own  power 
and  riches  (63).  In  the  same  place  will  be  the  sinning 
angels  of  Genesis  6  (64). 

The"  third  Similitude  ends  as  it  began  with  a  description  The  blessed 
of  the  blessed  consummation,  of  which  the  central  good  tion 
is  the  revelation  of  "that  son  of  man,"  his  judgment 
removing  all  evil  from  the  earth,  and  his  glory  as  he  reigns 
over  an  incorruptible  world,  possessing  the  full  favor  of 
God  (hence  an  efficient  mediator  between  men  and  God). 
After  these  visions  Enoch  is  translated  to  the  Messiah  and 
the  Lord  of  spirits,  and  his  dwelling-place  is  Paradise, 
in  the  far  northwest,  where  the  fathers  and  all  the  righteous 
dwell  (69 :  25-70). 

A  later  writer  takes  this  occasion  to  describe  the  heaven  a  supple- 
into  which  Enoch  was  translated,  borrowing  his  descrip-  3£pte7(7i) 
tion  largely  from  chapter  14,  whereas  the  writer  of  the 
Similitudes  appears  to  make  no  use  of  other  parts  of  the 
book.  The  interpolator  adds  the  remarkable  identification 
of  "  that  son  of  man  "  with  Enoch  himself,  making  him 
the  supreme  embodiment  of  righteousness,  the  imitation 

325 


The  Messages  of  the 

of  him  the  law,  and  eternal  life  with  him  the  hope  of 
man  (71). ■ 

11.  Significance  of  the  Messianic  Hope  in  the  Similitudes 

Religion  as  The  Messianic  theology  of  this  book  is  so  important  in 
unseen1  C  its  bearing  on  the  beginnings  of  Christianity  that  we  may 
world  we^  attempt  to  summarize  and  estimate  it.     There  are, 

according  to  this  writer,  dwelling-places  in  heaven  prepared 
for  the  chosen  and  just.  These  places  are,  it  would  seem, 
to  be  brought  to  earth,  or  earth  transformed  into  their 
likeness,  in  the  coming  age.  There  dwell  at  present  not 
only  angel  spirits,  but  also  one  like  man  and  like  angel  as 
well,  the  Elect  one  of  God,  the  Messiah,  who  is  destined 
to  sit  on  God's  throne  as  judge,  to  destroy  those  who  now 
rule  the  earth,  and  to  reward  the  righteous.  Faith  in  the 
reality  of  these  heavenly  places  and  rewards  and  of  this 
Messiah,  though  they  are  hidden,  is  the  essence  of  piety. 
By  this  faith  the  just  are  sustained  in  their  struggle  with 
the  world,  and  given  strength  to  resist  and  despise  its 
wealth  and  pride.  The  sin  of  the  rulers  of  the  world  is 
unbelief  and  arrogance.  They  deny  the  spirit  world, 
angels,  the  books  of  reckoning,  the  Messiah  and  God  him- 
self.    The  Messiah  was  created  before  heaven  and  earth. 

1  All  the  Enoch  books  exalt  Enoch  as  the  great  revealer  of  God  and  of 
heavenly  and  future  things  to  men.  They  represent  a  sort  of  Enoch  reli- 
gion, an  idealization  and  partial  deification  of  the  one  who  walked  with  God 
and  was  not ,  for  God  took  him. 

326 


Apocalyptical  Writers  % 

He  is  more  than  man  in  nature,  and  is  put  above  all  angels  The  heaven- 
in  authority ;  yet  he  seems  to  represent  what  man  should ly  Messiah 
be,  and  he  will  be  the  head  of  the  new  community  of  the 
righteous,  whose  blessedness  consists  in  association  with 
him.  Even  now  he  is  the  salvation  of  those  who  know 
the  secret  of  his  being  and  believe  in  him.  What  a  trans- 
formation, and  yet  not  an  unnatural  one,  the  symbolic 
figure  of  the  one  like  a  man  in  Daniel  7  :  13  has  here 
undergone ! 

We  must  believe  then  that  the  idea  of  the  Messiah  as  A  Jewish 
pre-existent  and  as  destined  to  sit  on  the  throne  of  God  as  christoiogy 
the  final  judge  of  angels  and  men  was  not  a  Christian 
creation,  but  was  held  at  some  time  by  some  Jews.  It  was 
one  of  the  forms  of  the  Jewish  Messianic  hope.  There 
were  others  wholly  different  from  this.  The  primitive 
conception  of  the  Messiah  as  another  David,  a  great  war- 
rior and  king,  wholly  man,  and  his  task  chiefly  political, 
was  still  current  and  popular  in  the  time  of  Christ.  The 
religious  and  ethical  sides  of  his  activity,  his  work  in  mak- 
ing the  Jewish  people  pure  and  righteous,  could  be  em- 
phasized, as  in  the  17th  Psalm  of  Solomon,  without  alter- 
ing his  character  as  a  purely  human,  national  king.  But 
the  Jews  whom  the  Similitudes  of  Enoch  represent  had 
made  of  Messiah  a  heavenly  being,  and  regarded  his  office 
as  chiefly  that  of  judge  of  the  world. 

The  millennarian  eschatology  which  we  found  in  the 
Apocalypse  of  Ten  Weeks  is  a  different  attempt  to  meet 

327 


The  Messages  of  the 

Peculiarity  the  same  need,  that  of  making  the  consummation  of  more 
eschatology  than  earthly  glory.  There  the  Messianic  earthly  consum- 
mation comes  first,  and  the  heavenly  and  eternal  follows 
after  it.  In  the  Similitudes  the  heavenly  precedes,  being 
already  a  reality,  and  the  one  crisis  and  one  consummation 
consists  in  the  breaking  in  of  the  heavenly  upon  the  earthly, 
and  the  transformation  of  earth  and  man  after  heavenly  and 
angelic  patterns.  In  the  millennarian  scheme  the  Messiah 
would  naturally  introduce  and  rule  over  the  earthly  king- 
dom, and  God  himself  would  be  the  final  judge.  So  it  is  in 
Second  Esdras  7.  In  the  Christian  Revelation  the  Messiah  is 
central  both  in  the  thousand  years'  reign  and  in  the  heavenly 
consummation.  Nothing  short  of  this  would  express  the 
place  of  Christ  in  Christian  faith.  It  is  a  surprising  and 
unique  feature  of  the  Similitudes  among  Jewish  writings 
that  they  make  the  Messiah  the  final  judge,  even  of  angels. 
It  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  heavenly  consummation  does 
not  here  follow  after  the  earthly,  but  displaces  it,  or  in- 
cludes and  interprets  it.  The  Messianic  hope  is  lifted  up 
and  given  a  transcendent  nature,  and  with  it  the  Messiah  is 
exalted  and  becomes  a  heavenly  and  semi-divine  being. 
Yet  this  It  would  be  a  great  mistake  to  exaggerate  the  likeness 

Messkhis     between  the  Messiah  of  the  Similitudes  and  the  Christ 
tianChnS      °^  tne  New  Testament.     The  ideas  of  pre-existence  and 
judgeship  are  important  in  early  Christology,  but  are  not 
of  central  significance  in  the  problem  of  the  Messianic 
consciousness  of  Jesus.     Far  more  important  is  such  a 

328 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

sentence  as  this:  "I  came  not  to  call  the  righteous  but 
sinners."  The  Messiah  of  the  Similitudes  comes  not  to 
make  sinful  Israel  righteous,  but  to  make  righteous  Israel 
triumphant,  to  vindicate  the  righteous  by  the  destruction 
of  their  enemies. 

Ill 

THE   ASSUMPTION   OF   MOSES 

This  apocalypse  exists  only  in  one  Latin  manuscript.  The  book 
It  is  perhaps  a  fragment,  though  it  seems  quite  complete 
in  its  plan.     The  date  is  not  long  after  the  death  of  Herod, 
probably  before  10  A.  D.     It  consists  in  the  last  charges 
and  revelations  of  Moses  to  Joshua,  and  contains  a  brief 
history  of  Israel  from  Moses  to  the  Messianic  age,  told  in 
literal,  not  in  figurative,  speech.     The  most  striking  point  Its  polemic 
in  this  history  is  the  unsparing  condemnation  of  the  priest-  pfieTts 
hood  before,  during  and  after  the  Maccabean  age,  and  a 
depreciation  of  the  temple  services  because  of  the  unworthy 
character  of  those  who  officiate.     The  impelling  purpose 
of  the  book  is  to  be  found  in  this  denunciation  and  in  urging 
a  patient  and  courageous  protest  against  the  ruling  party. 
Apparently  the  writer  expects  a  new  persecution  by  a  Persecution 
second  Antiochus  Epiphanes.     Those  who  patiently  en-J^rdJf 
dure  it  in  fidelity  to  the  law  will  be  rewarded  at  the  coming  gjgg  llke 
of  God's  kingdom  by  elevation  to  heaven,  from  which  they 
will  look  down  upon  the  destruction  of  their  enemies  by 

329 


The  Messages  of  the 

the  avenging  wrath  of  God.1    The  earth  itself  is  apparently- 
destroyed  and  the  consummation  is  purely  heavenly.     The 
ideal  righteous  man  is  one  who  retires  from  the  world  in 
order  fully  to  keep  the  law  of  God,  sacrificing  life  if  need 
be,  in  the  sure  hope  of  vindication  and  glory  at  the  coming 
of  God  (ch.  9). 
Thedeifica-      Another  noteworthy  feature  of  the  book  is  the  semi- 
Moses         divine  character  given  to  Moses.     God  prepared  him  be- 
fore the  foundation  of  the  world  to  be  the  mediator  of  his 
covenant   (1  :  14).     He  feeds,   pities,   guides  the   people. 
His  intercession  secures  their  blessings  (11:9-17;  12:  6). 
None  would  dare  touch  his  dead  body,  and  only  the  whole 
world  could  be  his  grave.     Joshua  must  be  reassured  in 
view  of  the  irreparable  loss  which  his  death  will  entail  by 
Moses's  strong  assertion  that  Israel's  salvation  does  not 
depend  on  him,  but  on  the  eternal  and  irrevocable  purpose 
of  God.    This  exaltation  of  Moses  is  connected  with  the 
exaltation  of  the  Law. 
The  party  to     The  book  represents,  perhaps,  as  Mr.  Charles  puts  it, 
book  be-       "a  Pharisee  of  a  fast -disappearing  type,  recalling  in  all 
longs  respects  the  Chasid  of  the  early  Maccabean    times,  and 

upholding  the  old  traditions  of  quietude  and  resignation." 
Or  it  may  be  more  correct,  with  Baldensperger,  to  call  him 
a  Messianic  Pietist,  and  to  regard  him  as  a  critic  of  Pharisa- 

1  But  seme  think  this  (ch.  10:8  ff.)  a  picture  of  the  elevation  of  Israel  to 
rulership  over  the  earth,  though  the  starry  heaven  is  not  mere  figure.  The 
scene  of  the  new  era  is  elevated  above  earth. 

33° 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

Ism  as  well  as  of  Sadduceeism  (see  ch.  7),  one  whose  de- 
votion to  the  law  is  not  a  cloak  to  cover  unrighteousness. 
Baldensperger  agrees  that  he  is  a  successoi  of  the  Chasi- 
dim.  Perhaps  a  Pharisee  would  not  make  a  Levite  his 
representative  pious  man. 

It  is  interesting  to  contrast  this  type  of  piety  with  that  Compared 
found  in  the  Book  of  Jubilees.1  There  the  realization  Book  of 
of  the  hope  depends  on  Israel's  observance  of  the  law.  Jubllees 
The  emphasis  is  on  man's  freedom  rather  than  on  God's 
covenant  and  oath,  and  on  God's  justice  and  recompense 
according  to  desert  rather  than  his  unmerited  grace  (Ass. 
Mos.  12  :  7  ff.).  The  distinction  consists  in  a  difference 
of  emphasis  on  two  sides  of  the  Jewish  religion,  and  it  is 
connected  with  differences  of  circumstance  as  well  as  of 
temperament.  The  Book  of  Jubilees  was  written  when  the 
religious  party  was  prosperous,  the  Assumption  of  Moses 
when  it  was  oppressed  and  in  danger ;  so  the  one  thinks 
that  the  consummation  will  come  with  a  further  dominance 
of  legal  piety,2  the  other  expects  it  only  by  a  purely  miracu- 
lous intervention  of  God.  One  expects  a  transformation 
of  the  earth  and  a  dwelling  of  God  among  men  ; 3  the  other 

1  Not  an  apocalypse  but  containing  some  apocalyptical  features.  See 
Charles's  Book  of  Jubilees,  1904  ;  but  his  date  (a  few  years  after  135  B.  C.)  is 
probably  too  early.  A  midrash  or  free  paraphrase  and  commentary  on  Gen- 
esis and  part  of  Exodus,  up  to  the  founding  of  Passover. 

2  See  Book  of  Jubilees,  1 :  15-18 ;  23: 26-31. 

3  Jubilees  1:17;  yet  after  this  ( ?),  according  to  one  passage,  comes  a  spir- 
itual immortality,  23 :  30. 

33* 


The  Messages  o)  the 

requires  nothing  less  than  the  destruction  of  the  earth, 
and  the  dwelling  of  the  righteous  with  God  in  heaven. 

The  rabbis  in  a  much  later  time  continued  to  discuss 
the  question  whether  the  coming  of  the  Messianic  time 
depended  on  Israel's  repentance  and  righteousness,  or  on 
a  predestined  course  of  world  history  in  which  its  place 
was  unchangeably  fixed.  Circumstance  and  temperament 
determine  the  attitude  of  men  on  this  perennial  problem. 

IV 

THE    SECRETS    OF    ENOCH 

The  book         This  is  a  recent  addition  to  our  knowledge  of  the  Enoch 

and  its  date  ..  T  .....  .... 

literature.  It  was  originally  written,  certainly  in  the  main, 
in  Greek,  and  it  has  survived  only  in  Slavonic.  It  makes 
some  use  of  the  older  (Ethiopic)  Enoch  book,  but  is 
largely  independent  of  it  and  different  from  it  in  char- 
acter. It  is  on  the  whole  an  unmistakably  Jewish  book, 
though  there  are  some  strange  things  in  it  that  suggest 
foreign  influence,  and  on  the  other  hand  the  ethical  teach- 
ings are  in  part  so  Christian  that  some  have  supposed  a 
few  Christian  interpolations.  The  references  to  sacrifices 
seem  to  imply  that  the  temple  was  still  standing.  This  is 
almost  the  only  indication  of  date. 

The  first  part  of  the  book  describes  Enoch's  journey  up 
through  the  seven  heavens,  with  an  account  of  what  he  saw 

332 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

in  each.     Having  reached  the  very  presence  of  God  he  Visions  of 
is  instructed  by  him  regarding  mysteries  which  not  even  IndoTthe" 
the  angels  know.     He  is  told  the  way  in  which  God  created  °vrjf in  of 
the  world,  the  visible  out  of  the  invisible,  and  man,  in 
whom  visible  and  invisible  are  united.     The  fall  of  Adam 
is  shaped  in  such  a  way  as  to  guard  both  his  pre-eminence 
among  men,  and  the  absolute  goodness  of  all  the  world 
as  God  made  it.     The  blame  is  put  in  part  upon  Eve,  in 
part  on  Satan,  who  fell  from  heaven  because  of  his  am- 
bition to  equal  God,  in  part  on  Adam's  ignorance  of  his 
nature. 

After  a  month's  stay  in  heaven,  during  which  he  writes  Admoni- 
366  books  of  his  revelations,  Enoch  returns  to  earth  for 
a  month  to  instruct  and  admonish  his  children.  The  last 
part  of  the  book  contains  his  admonitions,  consisting  of 
some  fine  ethical  teachings,  in  which  emphasis  is  laid  on 
justice  and  a  charity  that  is  disinterested  and  rests  on  love, 
patient  forbearance  and  endurance,  and  sincerity  in  all 
one's  service  of  God,  who  knows  the  heart.  These  duties 
are  enforced  by  the  expectation  of  a  coming  judgment 
which  will  introduce  the  world  to  come.  The  reward  of 
following  the  maxims  of  the  book  is  a  blessed  immortal- 
ity, the  consummation  being  conceived  of  in  individual 
more  than  in  national  form.  In  the  world  to  come  there 
are  many  mansions  prepared  for  men  :  good  for  the  good, 
and  evil  for  the  evil.  Emphasis  is  put  on  monotheism 
and  divine  determination.     The  number  and  place  of  all 

333 


The  Messages  oj  the 

souls  are  fixed.     Yet   freedom  and  responsibility  are  in- 
sisted upon. 

V 

THE    APOCALYPSE   OF   EZRA 

i.  Historical  Situation  and  Relation  to  the  Apocalypse 
of  Baruch 

The  ques-        Two  closely  related  apocalypses,  that  of  Ezra  (2  Esd. 

tiveage6  a"  3_I4)  and  that  of  Baruch,  were  called  forth  by  the  destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem  in  70  A.  D.,  and  by  the  condition  in 
which  Judaism  was  left  by  that  dreadful  calamity.  It  is 
very  uncertain  what  their  relation  to  each  other  is,  which 
is  earlier,  and  so  which  is  dependent  on  the  other.  Some 
think  that  the  writer  of  the  Apocalypse  of  Baruch  has 
a  more  vivid  impression  of  the  fall  of  the  city,  others 
that  the  writer  of  the  Apocalypse  of  Ezra  reveals  a  deeper 
emotion,  a  more  natural  order  and  progress,  and  a  greater 
originality.  The  historical  Baruch  was  an  actual  witness 
of  the  first  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  as  Ezra  was  not,  and 
Second  Esdras  3 :  1  suggests  that  some  time  had  inter- 
vened. On  the  other  hand,  Ezra  was  a  greater  name 
than  Baruch  and  would  naturally  be  chosen  first  after 
Enoch,  Moses,  and  Daniel,  by  an  apocalyptical  writer. 
There  is  also  a  great  difference  of  judgment  among  stu- 
dents as  to  the  question  of  the  unity  of  these  books.    Our 

334 


Apocalyptical  Writers 


English   editor  of  the  Apocalypse   of  Baruch,   Professor  The  ques 

tion  of  < 
position 


Charles,  accepts  an  elaborate  analysis  of  both  apocalypses,  h' 


while  the  most  recent  and  able  German  writer  on  the 
Apocalypse  of  Ezra,  Professor  Gunkel,  maintains  that  it  is 
a  unity,  though  its  author,  like  other  writers  of  this  sort  of 
literature,  made  use  of  various  written  or  oral  traditions.1 

The  Apocalypse  of  Ezra  is  on  a  higher  plane  of  religious  Relative 
feeling  and  reflection  than   the  other,  and  was  far  more  christians 
highly  valued  by  the  Christian  church.    It  has  survived  in 
five  ancient  versions,  Latin,  Syriac,  Ethiopic,  Arabic  and 
Armenian,  while  the  Apocalypse  of  Baruch  exists  only  in 
one  Syriac  manuscript,  first  published  in  1866. 

In  these  two  apocalypses  the  eschatological  conceptions  The  escha- 
of  Judaism  are  most  fully  elaborated;  so  that  Schiirer,  in  the°ey° 
his  History,  follows  a  scheme  that  is  derived  from  these  aP°calyPses 
two  books  when  he  would  give  a  systematic  summary  of 
the  Jewish  Messianic  hope.     This  is  his  scheme  :  (1)  The 
last  oppression  and  confusion.     (2)  Elijah  as  forerunner. 
(3)  The  appearance  of  Messiah.    (4)  Last  attack  of  hostile 
powers.    (5)  Their  destruction.    (6)  Renewal  of  Jerusalem. 
(7)  Gathering  of  the  Dispersion.     (8)  Kingdom  of  glory 
in  Palestine.     (9)  Renewal  of  the   world.     (10)  General 
resurrection.      (11)  Last  judgment.      Eternal  blessedness 
and  condemnation. 

We  are  not,  however,  to  suppose  that  these  apocalypses 

1  Gunkel's   edition   is   in    Kautzsch's   Psendepigraphen  des  Allen  Testa- 
ments, 1900. 

335 


The  Messages  of  the 

follow  this  scheme  in  a  clear  and  consistent  way.  On  the 
contrary  each  of  them  contains  a  variety  of  eschatological 
material,  derived  certainly  in  large  part  from  various  tra- 
ditional sources,  and  not  worked  together  into  a  consistent 
and  orderly  whole.  It  is  because  of  such  diversities  that 
some  regard  these  books  as  composite,  but  it  is  probably 
better  to  say  that  they  have  each  a  proper  author  and  a 
real  unity,  but  that  the  authors,  like  others  of  their  class, 
are  very  dependent  on  traditions,  and  are  not  anxious, 
perhaps  are  not  able,  to  harmonize  them. 
Three  forms  There  are  three  consummations  with  which  Jewish 
tologicaf  a  eschatology  concerned  itself :  (i)  The  old  prophetic  and 
their  reia-  always  popular  hope  of  a  national  restoration,  a  coming 
tions  to  one  kingship  and  glory  of  Israel.  It  is  here  that  Messiah,  the 
king,  originally  belonged.  (2)  A  new  world  age  to  dis- 
place this  corrupt  world.  An  aeon  heavenly  in  its  source 
and  character,  introduced  by  a  world  catastrophe,  and 
even  by  a  new  divine  creation.  (3)  Rewards  and  pun- 
ishments of  individual  souls  after  death,  according  to  their 
deserts,  in  unearthly  places  prepared  for  such  purposes. 
Now  the  tendency  in  Judaism  was  to  pass  from  the  first  of 
these  hoped-for  ends  to  the  second,  and  from  the  second 
to  the  third.  The  eschatology  of  the  older  prophets  was 
occupied  chiefly  with  the  first.  The  eschatology  of  the 
Jewish  rabbis  as  the  Talmud  records  it  is  principally  con- 
cerned with  the  third.  It  is  characteristic  of  the  apoc- 
alypses that  they  make  the  second  central.     Someone  calls 

336 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

Second  Esdras  7 :  50,  "  The  Most  High  hath  not  made 
one  world  but  two,"  the  key  to  the  apocalypses.  Another 
.quotes  as  their  text,  Barnabas  6  :  13,  "  Behold  I  make  the 
last  things  as  the  first" — a  new  creation,  like  the  first, 
begins  the  new  world.  This  does  not  mean,  however,  that 
in  the  apocalypses  the  hope  of  a  new  world  displaced  the 
hope  of  a  royal  Israel.  It  either  interpreted  the  older  hope, 
giving  it  an  unearthly  elevation,  or  it  followed  it  in  time, 
of  course  so  surpassing  it  in  glory  as  to  put  it  into  the  back- 
ground. As  a  matter  of  fact,  from  Daniel  itself  on,  the 
apocalypses  deal  with  all  three  of  the  ends  just  described, 
and  it  is  only  by  differences  in  emphasis  and  relationship 
that  they  are  distinguished  from  each  other. 

If,  now,  we  compare  Daniel  and  Second  Esdras  we  are 
struck  especially  with  the  fact  that  though  Israel's  disas- 
trous collision  with  Rome  is  the  occasion  of  the  later  book, 
yet  the  national,  political  element  is  far  more  in  the  back- 
ground than  in  Daniel.  The  contrast  of  the  two  world- 
ages  is  much  more  important  than  the  contrast  of  Israel 
and  Rome.  It  is  evident  also  that  interest  in  the  fortunes 
of  souls  in  the  realm  of  the  dead  is  far  more  developed  in 
the  later  than  in  the  earlier  book. 

2.  Problems  of  the  Book 
On  account  of  the  fact  that  this  book  was  in  the  old  Place <>f  the 

,  ,     .  i       tt    1  .1  1     •,  book  in  our 

Latin  Bible,  and  was  appended  to  the  Vulgate,  though  it  Apocrypha 
does  not  belong  to  the  Catholic  canon  proper,  we  fortu- 

337 


The  Messages  oj  the 

nately  have  it  in  our  English  Apocrypha.  It  should  be 
read  in  the  Revised  Version,  which  contains  a  fragment  of 
seventy  verses  missing  from  the  common  Latin  texts,  after 
7 :  35,  though  found  in  the  Oriental  Versions,  and  recently 
recovered  in  Latin.  Our  Second  Esdras  1-2  and  15-16 
do  not  belong  to  the  Jewish  apocalypse  and  are  not  found 
in  the  other  versions.  They  are  Christian  books  in  imi- 
tation of  the  Jewish,  and  are  often  called  Fifth  Ezra  (1  Esd. 
1-2)  and  Sixth  Ezra  (2  Esd.  15-16),  while  the  Jewish  book, 
Second  Esdras  3-14,  is  commonly  cited  as  Fourth  Ezra. 
Its  date  According  to  the  historical  vision  in  chapters  11-12,  the 

book  appears  to  have  been  written  before  the  end  of  Domi- 
tian's  reign  (81-96  A.  D.),  and  with  this  the  other  indica- 
tions of  date  in  the  book  agree. 
General  con-  We  may  approach  the  study  of  the  book  in  the  light  of 
book°  C  a  few  sentences  from  Gunkel.  "The  author  wished  to  pre- 
sent two  kinds  of  material :  1.  Properly  apocalyptical  and 
especially  eschatological  mysteries  ;  this  material  is  to  be 
compared  with  Daniel  7  ff.  or  Revelation  4  ff.  2.  Religious 
problems  and  speculations  which  relate  to  eschatology  and 
find  in  it  either  their  answer  or  their  occasion  ;  this  mate- 
rial is  comparable  with  the  speculations  of  the  Pauline 
letters.  The  author  put  these  problems  in  general  before 
the  mysteries,  as  being  of  greater  importance,  an  order 
which  can  be  compared  with  that  of  Revelation." 

Two  great  problems  concern  this  writer,  and  he  grapples 
with  them,  with  the  means  at  his  command,  in  an  earnest 

333 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

and  worthy  way,  with  deep  feeling  and  serious  reflection.  Two  chief 
One  is  the  problem  of  Israel,  whose  temple  and  city  have  problems 
fallen  before  the  Romans.  How  are  God's  choice  of 
Israel  and  his  promises  to  be  made  good?  The  answer 
should  be  the  Messianic  hope,  and  in  fact  the  book  pre- 
dicts the  overthrow  of  Rome,  and  the  coming  of  Israel's 
king  and  kingdom.  The  other  problem  is  that  of  sin  and 
evil  in  general,  the  universality  of  sin  and  the  dominance 
of  evil.  The  solution  is  the  hope  of  a  new  world  in  which 
the  source  of  sin  in  the  heart  of  man  will  be  removed,  and 
all  the  roots  of  evil  in  this  world  will  be  cut  out. 

In  one  place  the  millennarian  scheme  of  adjusting  these  Place  of  the 
two  hopes  is  adopted,  except  that  the  Messianic  age  meas-  hope*113 
ures  only  four  hundred  years  instead  of  one  thousand. 
This  period  of  Israel's  vindication  against  Rome  still 
belongs  to  the  present  world  age.  At  the  end  of  it  the 
Messiah,  though  he  pre-existed  before  his  manifestation, 
nevertheless  dies  with  all  other  men,  as  if  to  emphasize 
the  fact  that  what  then  follows,  the  new  creation,  wholly 
supersedes  the  national  hope. 

But  our  author  is  not  satisfied  with  this  eschatology  on  a  The  prob- 
large  scale.     It  is  well  that  the  present  world  with  its  irrc-  dividual  sin 
mediable  corruption  and  evil  be  destroyed  and  the  new  ?m 
world  take  its  place,  but  what  of  the  multitudes  to  whom 
the  judgment  that  must  introduce  the  new  world  can  only 
bring  death?     "The  world  to  come  shall  bring  delight  to 
few,  but  torment  to  many"  (7  :  47).     The  answer  to  this 

339 


ing 


The  Messages  of  the 

new  difficulty  leads  the  writer  much  further  into  specu- 
lations about  the  destiny  of  souls  after  death  than  earlier 
apocalypses  had  gone,  and  we  find  ourselves  well  started 
in  the  movement  which,  re-enforced  by  Greek  influence, 
became  dominant  both  in  later  Jewish  and  in  Christian 
eschatology. 
Value  of  the  A  brief  summary  of  the  book  will  suggest  some  of  the 
far-reaching  thoughts  which  moved  this  man.  His  book 
records  an  inward  struggle,  as  real  as  that  of  the  writer  of 
Job,  in  which  an  earnest  religious  thinker  seeks  to  main- 
tain his  faith  in  monotheism  and  in  salvation  through  the 
law  over  against  opposing  facts,  against  the  ill  fortune  of 
Israel  in  the  loss  of  its  temple  and  nationality,  against  the 
power  of  evil  in  this  world  in  general,  and  against  the  in- 
ability of  the  law  to  produce  righteousness  in  man,  because 
of  his  evil  heart.  In  the  world-wide  range  of  the  writer's 
views,  in  his  concern  for  sinful  men  and  their  fate,  and  in 
his  almost  Pauline  experience  of  the  inadequacy  of  the 
law  as  a  means  of  salvation,  the  writer  helps  us  to  under- 
stand the  kind  of  Judaism  that  was  ready  for  Christianity. 
The  fall  of  Jerusalem  (70  A.  D.)  must  have  helped  to 
detach  many  Jews  of  this  type  from  the  national  and  legal- 
istic side  of  the  Jewish  religion,  though,  on  the  other  hand, 
it  occasioned  a  reaction  of  the  majority  into  a  more  one- 
sided type  of  legalism,  in  which  the  eschatological  motive 
was  reduced  to  the  hope  by  the  study  and  keeping  of  the 
law  to  have  part  in  the  world  to  come. 

340 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

3.  The  First  Vision  :  Sources  and  End  of  Evil 

In  the  person  of  Ezra  mourning  over  the  desolation  of  The  first 
Zion  and  the  wealth  of  Babylon,  the  writer  expresses  hisj^^  :i9) 
grief  and  despair  at  Jerusalem's  fall  at  the  hands  of  Rome. 
He  utters  his  protests  to  God  by  appealing,  on  the  one  hand, 
to  the  universality  of  human  sinfulness  and,  on  the  other,  to 
God's  choice  of  Israel.  Sin  goes  back  to  Adam,  who  was 
altogether  as  God  made  him,  yet  he  sinned  because  he  had 
an  evil  heart ;  and  for  the  same  reason  all  men  have  sinned. 
The  law  which  God  gave  to  Israel  could  not  make  this 
people  righteous  so  long  as  he  did  not  remove  from  them 
the  evil  heart.  Hence  he  should  not  expect  perfect  right- 
eousness of  them.  On  the  other  hand  no  nation  has  shown 
more  faith  and  righteousness  than  Israel,  and  yet  nations 
far  more  wicked  prosper,  while  Israel  suffers  (ch.  3).  The 
most  serious  point  in  this  argument  is  the  implied  charge 
that  the  evil  heart  is  man's  by  nature,  that  God  is  respon- 
sible for  it,  and  hence  cannot  punish  men  for  sin.  Who 
planted  this  evil  seed  in  human  nature  if  not  God?  The 
angel  Uriel  replies  first  to  this  charge  much  as  Jehovah 
replies  to  Job.  You  cannot  understand  the  simplest  things 
about  you,  he  says,  still  less  things  remote  ;  how  then 
can  you  understand  why  the  heart  of  man  is  wicked? 
Man's  worn-out  nature  in  this  corruptible  world  cannot 
grasp  such  mysteries  (4  :  1-11).  Ezra  protests  that  it  were 
better  not  to  live  than  to  suffer  and  not  know  why  (4  :  12). 

341 


The  Messages  oj  the 

The  angel  replies  that  it  is  vain  for  anything  to  seek  to  go 
beyond  the  bounds  of  its  own  nature.  Man  can  know 
what  is  on  earth.  Only  God  knows  what  is  in  heaven 
(4  :  13-21).  Ezra  answers  that  it  was  indeed  a  thing  on 
earth  that  he  wished  to  know,  namely,  why  Israel  had  fallen 
before  an  ungodly  nation  (4 :  22-25).  The  answer  is,  that 
though  this  seems  to  be  a  thing  of  earth  it  is  involved  in 
something  transcendent.  This  present  world  is  altogether 
evil,  but  this  is  in  accordance  with  the  plan  of  God,  and  it 
is  not  his  purpose  to  remedy  this  world,  but  to  remove  it 
and  put  another  in  its  place.  It  is  necessary  rather  that 
evil  increase  in  order  that  the  present  world  may  reach  its 
end.  The  evil  sown  in  it  must  grow  to  maturity,  and  only 
then  can  it  be  harvested  (4  :  26-32).  The  seer  replies  :  If 
then  the  solution  of  the  problem  lies  in  the  future,  not  in 
the  past,  how  soon  will  it  come  ?  The  answer  is,  It  cannot 
be  hastened,  for  everything  is  determined  and  the  number 
and  measure  of  all  things  must  be  according  to  the  divine 
decree  (4 :  33-37).  Is  not  the  delay,  then,  on  account  of 
men's  sins?  No,  the  resurrection,  the  birth  of  souls  out 
of  the  womb  of  the  grave,  cannot  come  before  the  time  is 
fulfilled  (4  :  40-43).  Is  this  age,  then,  at  least  half  gone? 
Yes,  so  much  the  angel  can  affirm,  what  remains  is  far  less 
than  what  is  past  (4 :  44-50) ;  but  he  cannot  tell  whether 
the  end  will  come  within  the  seer's  lifetime.  He  can  only 
tell  the  signs  of  its  approach,  a  still  greater  increase  in  faith- 
lessness and  wickedness,  the  desolation  of  Rome,  Dortents 

342 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

in  the  heavens,  perversities  in  nature  and  degeneration  in 
human  life  (4  :  51-5  :  13). 

4.  The  Second  Vision:  Further  Questions  and  Answers 
as  to  Evil  and  its  End 

After  seven  days  Ezra  again  makes  complaint  to  God.  The  second 
Why,  if  he  has  chosen  Israel  and  favored  it  above  all  ^20-6 :  34) 
nations,  does  he  allow  it  to  be  oppressed  and  dishonored 
by  the  heathen?  (5  :  20-30).  The  angel  answers  as  before 
that  man  is  without  understanding  or  power  in  the  smallest 
and  nearest  things,  and  cannot  know  the  mystery  of  God's 
ways,  though  he  may  know  that  God's  love  to  Israel  is  far 
greater  than  his  own  (5  :  31-40).  The  seer  demands  to 
know  at  least  what  the  lot  of  those  shall  be  who  have  died 
before  the  end  comes,  and  is  assured  that  their  lot  will  not 
be  worse  than  that  of  those  who  survive  (4 :  41-42).  But 
why  could  not  God  have  made  all  men  at  once  and  shown 
his  righteous  judgment  without  such  delay?  Because  it 
would  be  unseemly  haste,  and  because  earth,  like  a  mother, 
must  bear  her  children  in  turn  (4 :  43-49).  But  it  is  evi- 
dent from  the  deterioration  of  the  human  race  that  our 
mother  earth  is  growing  old  (4  :  50-55).  Ezra  is  then  as- 
sured that  the  one  whose  coming  will  bring  the  new  world 
is  no  other  than  he  who  created  the  present  world,  God 
himself  (5  :  56-6  :  6).1  It  is  then  intimated  that  the  rule  of 

1  Some  find  here  a  polemic  against  Christianity,  but  it  is  not  necessary  to 
assume  this. 

343 


The  Messages  oj  the 

Rome  will  end  the  present  world,  and  that  of  Israel  will 
begin  the  world  to  come  (6  :  7-10). '  A  mighty  voice  an- 
nounces further  signs  in  nature  and  in  human  life  of  the 
nearness  of  the  end,  especially  the  coming  of  Elijah  and 
other  such  men,  who  did  not  die,  to  effect  a  moral  reforma- 
tion in  the  world  (6  :  11-28). 

5.    The  Third  Vision:  The  World  to  Come  and  the  Lot 
oj  Souls  after  Death 

The  third         Ezra  reviews,  with  some  legendary  additions,  the  story 

vision  ^ 

(6:35-9:25) of  the  six  days  of  creation  in  order  to  bring  forth  the  truth 
that  God  made  the  world  for  man,  and  then  among  men 
chose  Israel  as  his  people.  But  "if  the  world  be  made  for 
our  sakes,  why  do  we  not  possess  our  world?  "  (6  :  35-59). 
The  angel's  answer  concerns  the  problem  of  man  rather 
than  that  of  Israel.  He  likens  this  world  to  a  narrow 
and  dangerous  entrance — made  such  because  of  Adam's 
transgression — through  which  one  must  pass  if  he  would 
enjoy  the  breadth  and  security  of  the  world  to  come.  One 
should  endure  the  present  by  setting  his  mind  upon  the 
future  (7  :  1-16).  But,  Ezra  replies,  it  is  only  the  right- 
eous who  can  cherish  this  hope.  True,  says  the  angel,  and 
right,  for  sinners  have  violated  the  express  command  of 
God  (7  :  17-25).     This  will  be  the  order  of  the  last  things. 

1  7  :  29-31  differs  from  this,  for  it  makes  the  Messianic  kingdom  belong  to 
this  age,  not  to  the  age  to  come.  The  writer  does  not  care  to  harmonize 
varying  traditions. 

344 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

After  the  signs  already  described,  the  new  Jerusalem  will 
appear.  Messiah  will  come  with  the  righteous  dead  and 
reign  400  years.  Then  he  and  all  men  shall  die  and  the 
earth  shall  be  silent  as  before  the  creation.  Then  the  new 
incorruptible  world  shall  appear,  all  the  dead  shall  rise, 
and  judgment  shall  follow,  with  eternal  rewards  in  Gehenna 
and  Paradise.  This  day  of  judgment,  seven  years  long, 
is  a  wholly  unearthly  day.  It  is  lighted  only  by  the  glory 
of  God  l  (7  :  26-44).  But  the  seer  returns  to  his  anxious 
inquiry  after  those  to  whom  this  day  of  judgment  will  bring 
only  woe.  Have  not  almost  all  sinned  on  account  of  the 
evil  heart,  and  will  not  the  age  to  come  bring  delight  to 
oftly  a  few?  The  angel  does  not  deny  the  fact.  All 
precious  things  are  rare,  and  God  will  rejoice  over  the  few 
righteous,  as  a  man  over  his  jewels,  and  will  not  grieve 
over  the  multitude  that  perish  (7 :  45-61).  To  this  the 
seer  replies  again  that  it  would  be  better  not  to  be,  or  to 
be  as  animals  without  minds  that  fear  and  hope,  than  to 
be  men  inevitably  sinful  and  destined  to  judgment  after 
death.2  The  angel  answers  that  judgment  was  in  God's 
plan  from  creation,  and  that  man's  intelligence  makes  him 

1  Isa.  60  :  19  f.  ;  Rev.  21  :  23. 

2  The  tone  of  the  writer  changes  from  impatient  haste  for  the  coming  of  the 
future  world  to  solve  the  present  evils  of  life,  to  fear  lest  the  future  will  bring 
to  many  and  even  to  him  not  the  end  of  evil  but  greater  evils  than  are  now 
endured.  The  sense  of  the  grace  of  God  to  his  chosen  people  is  balanced  by 
the  sense  of  the  righteousness  of  his  judgment  according  to  the  law,  and  the 
incapacity  of  man  to  fulfil  the  law  on  account  of  his  evil  nature. 

345 


The  Messages  oj  the 

rightly  responsible,  especially  since  God  not  only  gave  him 
a  law,  but  has  put  the  judgment  off  so  long  (7 :  62-74). 
Ezra  then  asks  whether  souls  are  punished  immediately 
after  death  or  are  kept  till  the  day  of  judgment.  The 
angel  first  assures  him  that  he  is  not  to  number  himself 
with  the  sinners,  and  then  discloses  the  experiences  of 
souls  in  the  intermediate  state  immediately  after  death, 
the  seven  torments  of  soul  which  the  wicked  will  suffer, 
and  the  seven  joys  that  shall  fill  the  minds  of  the  righteous. 
They  have  seven  days  of  freedom  in  which  to  see  the  places 
destined  for  them,  and  then  wait  in  their  chambers  (7  :  75- 
101).  Ezra's  anxiety  for  sinners  leads  him  to  ask  whether 
the  righteous  can  intercede  for  the  unrighteous  in  the  day  of 
judgment,  fathers  for  children,  or  friends  for  friends.  The 
answer  is,  No ;  each  one  must  then  stand  alone ;  and  in 
answer  to  the  appeal  to  historical  examples  of  the  efficacy 
of  such  intercession  the  angel  reiterates  that  this  belongs 
to  the  present  world,  but  not  to  that  in  which  sin  is  to  have 
no  place  (7  :  102-115).  The  hopeless  finality  of  the  issues 
of  that  day  weighs  the  seer  down.  He  thinks  it  better  that 
man  should  not  have  been  made,  or  that  Adam  should  not 
have  been  permitted  to  sin  and  bring  such  evil  upon  the 
race.  The  promise  of  eternal  life  is  unavailing  because 
man  cannot  deserve  it.  So  the  hope  of  the  world  to  come, 
which  was  to  solve  the  problem  of  evil,  only  increases  its 
darkness  and  oppression  (7:116-126).  The  answer  of 
legalism  that  the  transgressors  of  the  law  only  receive  their 

346 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

deserts  as  the  law  prescribes  (7 :  127-131)  does  not  satisfy 
his  heart.  For  God  is  now  not  only  just  but  merciful. 
Compassion  as  well  as  righteousness  enters  into  the  Old 
Testament  revelation  of  his  character,  and  the  very  contin- 
uance of  the  world  and  of  man  is  proof  of  it  (7  :  132-140).1 
When  the  angel  repeats  the  principle,  many  for  this 
world,  few  for  the  world  to  come,  many  created,  few  saved, 
Ezra  answers  no  longer  with  argument  but  with  a  prayer. 
The  only  hope  is  that  God,  who  alone  makes  man,  and 
with  such  pains,  will  also  give  him  such  inward  help  as 
shall  enable  him  to  gain  righteousness  and  life  (8 :  1-14). 
He  will  not  pray,  as  he  is  prompted  to,  for  all  men,  but  will 
be  satisfied  if  God  will  hear  his  prayer  for  his  own  people 
and  for  himself  (8 :  15-19).  His  prayer  is  that  God  will 
overlook  the  deeds  of  the  wicked,  and  will  deal  with  Israel 
only  with  regard  to  the  merit  of  those  who  have  feared 
and  trusted  him.  Only  by  such  overlooking  of  sin  would 
God  deserve  the  name  of  merciful  (8  :  20-36).  The  angel 
again  answers  that  God  will  indeed  forget  the  wicked,  but 
not  so  as  to  remit  their  penalty.  He  will  fix  his  thought 
upon  the  righteous  and  rejoice  in  them  and  their  reward, 
as  a  husbandman   sows  much  seed   but   has  fruit  from 

1  The  struggle  here  between  the  religion  of  hope  and  the  religion  of  law  is 
most  significant.  Hope  and  law  together  made  up  the  Jewish  religion,  but 
some  Jews  besides  Saul  of  Tarsus  had  experience  of  the  essential  disharmony 
of  the  two.  A  legalism  that  includes  a  fixed  and  sure  national  calling  and 
destiny  is  no  pure  legalism,  and  a  hope  that  is  conditioned  upon  the  fulfil- 
ment of  a  law  is  no  joyous  hope,  but  may  be  changed  into  despair. 

•       347 


The  Messages  of  the 

only  a  part  (8 :  37-41).  To  this  Ezra  makes  the  obvious 
answer  that  seed  fails  to  grow  because  of  too  much  or  too 
little  of  God's  rain.  But  man  is  wholly  God's  creation ; 
he  is  not  to  be  likened  to  seed  but  should  have  God's  mercy 
(8:42-45).  The  answer  contains  the  assurance  that  in 
spite  of  contrary  appearances  Ezra's  pitying  love  for  God's 
creatures  falls  far  short  of  God's  own  love.  Ezra  himself  is 
praised  for  his  humility  but  is  again  assured  that  he  will  be 
among  the  blessed.  It  is  for  such  as  he  that  the  rewards  of 
the  world  to  come  are  prepared,  and  he  is  bidden  to  think 
no  more  of  those  who  have  wilfully  disobeyed  and  denied 
God,  and  deserve  his  judgment  (8  :  46-62). 

Ezra  then  returns  to  the  question  when  the  end  will  come. 
The  signs  of  its  coming  are  again  given,  perils  from  which 
those  who  can  escape  by  works  or  faith  shall  be  preserved. 
When  Ezra  once  more  laments  over  the  few  that  will  be 
saved,  God  replies  with  a  confession  of  partial  failure  in 
his  creation.  Sin  spoiled  his  work,  and  he  could  rescue  but 
a  few  and  that  with  difficulty.  In  the  few  he  will  rejoice 
and  let  the  many  perish  (8 :  63-9  :  25). 

6.  The  Fourth  Vision :  The  Heavenly  Jerusalem 

The  fourth       After  seven  days  Ezra  speaks  to  God  again  of  his  per- 
(9T26-        plexity.     He  has  in  a  sense  given  up  the  problem  of  man- 
ic :  so)        kind  and  retired  upon  the  problem  of  Israel,  and  now  he 
declares  himself  ready  to  accept  even  Israel's  destruction 
if  only  the  law,  the  divine  seed  which  Israel  failed  to  keep, 

348      . 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

remain  and  have  its  vindication  (9  :  26-37).  It  is  when 
the  religion  of  law  seems  thus  to  have  vanquished  the  re- 
ligion of  the  national  hope  that  the  prophet  receives  a  re- 
assuring vision  of  the  coming  glory  of  Zion.  The  vision 
is  that  of  a  woman  mourning  for  the  loss  of  her  only  son 
on  his  wedding-day.  Ezra  rebukes  her  for  mourning  for 
one  son  when  Jerusalem  is  abased  and  earth  laments  the 
loss  of  many  children,  when  the  temple  and  all  its  sacred 
treasures  have  been  destroyed.  He  bids  her  have  courage 
and  be  comforted  in  view  of  the  common  sorrow  (9 :  38- 
10:  24).  As  he  speaks  the  woman  is  suddenly  glorified, 
and  immediately  in  her  place  he  sees  a  great  city.  The 
angel  explains  that  the  woman  was  Zion  and  her  son  the 
temple,1  and  that  the  city  now  before  his  eyes  is  the  glori- 
ous Jerusalem  which  God  himself  has  made.  He  is  bidden 
to  enter  it  and  see  what  he  is  able  of  its  beauties.  But  no 
further  account  of  it  is  given. 

7.  The  Fifth  Vision  :  Rome  and  its  Fall 

After  the  vision  of  the  heavenly  Jerusalem  comes  a  vis-  The  fifth 
ion  of  the  fall  of  Rome.     The  details  are  obscure  but  it  is  (^f?a) 
clear  that  the  writer  understands  Rome  to  be  the  fourth  of 
Daniel's  four  kingdoms,  and  regards  this  as  a  new  inter- 
pretation (11  :  39  f.  ;  12  :  11,  12) ;  and  it  is  also  probable 
that  the  writer  is  living  under  Domitian,  the  last  of  the  three 

1  This  is  not  altogether  natural  and  is  probably  an  allegorical  interpretation 
of  a  story  already  given. 

349 


The  Messages  of  the 

Flavian  emperors  (the  three  heads  of  the  eagle),  or  soon 
after  his  death.  The  Messiah  appears  as  the  one  who 
charges  Rome  with  its  sins  and  announces  God's  just 
judgment  (n  :  36-46),  and  then  as  the  one  who  destroys 
Rome  after  he  has  reproved  her  (12  :  31-33). 

8.  The  Sixth  Vision :  The  Coming  0}  the  Messiah 

The  sixth  Then  follows  a  vision  of  the  Messiah,  based  on  Daniel  7  ; 
13  his  appearance  like  a  man,  his  destruction  of  opposing 
multitudes  of  heathen  by  his  flaming  words,  his  coming 
and  gathering  together  his  own,  the  ten  tribes,  in  addition 
to  those  that  remain  in  Palestine,  a  great  multitude.  The 
terrors  of  his  coming  are  such  that  Ezra  almost  doubts 
whether  it  is  better  to  live  to  experience  it.  The  angel  re- 
assures him  as  to  this  point,  and  interprets  the  vision. 

9.  The  Seventh  Vision:  The  Rewriting  of  the  Sacred 
Scriptures 

The  seventh  Ezra  is  assured  of  his  translation  to  be  with  the  Messiah 
vision  (14)  ancj  j^s  companions  until  the  end  comes.  Before  his  de- 
parture from  earth  in  answer  to  his  prayer  he  is  inspired  to 
restore  the  Scriptures  which  were  destroyed  with  Jerusalem. 
In  forty  days  he  dictates  to  five  scribes  the  twenty-four 
canonical  books,  to  be  published  for  all  to  read,  and  sev- 
enty secret  books,  the  apocalypses,  to  be  kept  for  the  inner 
circles  of  the  wise;  the  law  of  life  by  which  alone  man 

35° 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

can  escape  the  judgment  to  come,  and  the  mysteries  of 
eschatology,  which  made  the  chief  contents  of  the  revela- 
tion to  Moses  himself  (14  :  5-6). 

VI 

THE   APOCALYPSE   OF    BARUCH 

This  book  is  well  worth  reading  in  connection  with  Sec- 
end  Esdras.  It  is  a  closely  related  book,  yet  in  important  re- 
spects different.  A  summary  of  its  contents  is  excluded  by 
limitations  of  space.  In  comparison  with  the  Apocalypse 
of  Ezra  the  book  represents  a  more  orthodox  or  at  least 
a  more  contented  Judaism.  There  is  no  protest  against 
legalism,  no  sense  of  its  inadequacy,  no  doubt  about  the 
writer's  own  salvation.  There  is  no  such  serious  vacillation 
between  hope  and  fear  in  the  expectation  of  the  coming 
day  of  the  Lord.1  There  is  no  such  sense  of  sin  as  Sec- 
ond Esdras  expresses  in  its  doctrine  of  the  evil  heart,  and 
though  Adam's  sin  has  the  same  direful  consequences,  yet 
man's  freedom  and  responsibility  are  unimpaired. 

The  book  begins  with  various  attempts  to  remove  the 
offence  to  faith  caused  by  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem. 
It  was  for  Judah's  sins.  It  will  last  but  for  a  time.  It  is 
for  the  good  of  the  heathen.  It  is  the  heavenly,  not  the 
earthly,  Jerusalem  for  which  God  cares.     The  destruction 

1  Yet  see  14-19  ;  28  :  3  ;  48  :  12  ff. ;  75  :  5  f. ;  84  :  10  ;  85  :  3. 
351 


The  Messages  oj  the 

was  only  apparently  by  a  heathen  power ;  it  was  really  by 
angels  of  God.  The  sacred  utensils  of  the  temple  were 
removed  and  buried  by  an  angel.  God  himself  withdrew 
his  presence  before  the  fall.  Pessimistic  laments  over  this 
catastrophe  lead  over  to  the  eschatology,  in  which  the  real 
solution  of  the  problem  is  found.  The  age  to  come  is 
at  hand.  It  cannot  indeed  be  hastened,  but  the  predes- 
tined time  is  not  far  away.  The  signs  of  its  coming  are 
described,  the  tribulations  preceding  it,  the  reign  of  Mes- 
siah, and  after  his  return  to  heaven,  the  resurrection  of 
the  just.  There  is  a  vision  of  Rome  and  its  fall  at  the 
hand  of  Messiah.  There  are  speculations  about  the  nature 
of  the  resurrection  somewhat  like  Paul's  (Ap.  Bar.  49-52, 
1  Cor.  15).  A  vision  follows  picturing  the  course  of  world 
history,  from  the  beginning  to  the  time  of  the  consummation 
(chs.  53-74).  Throughout  are  many  admonitions  and 
prayers,  in  which  the  legalistic  spirit  prevails.  The  book 
ends  with  a  letter  from  Baruch  to  the  nine  and  a  half  tribes, 
justifying  God's  judgment  over  Jerusalem,  announcing  the 
coming  judgment  over  Israel's  enemies,  and  admonishing 
to  penitence  and  fidelity. 


352 


Apocalyptical  Writers 


VII 

THE   APOCALYPSE   OF   PETER 

Among  uncanonical  Christian  apocalypses  we  may  select 
for  treatment  the  Apocalypse  of  Peter,  not  only  because  it 
had  wide  currency  in  the  early  church  as  a  genuine  work 
of  the  apostle,  and  hence  as  canonical,  but  because  of  its 
epoch-making  importance  in  the  history  of  Jewish  and 
Christian  apocalyptical  literature.  Here,  for  the  first  time, 
detailed  descriptions  of  the  appearance  of  the  redeemed 
in  heaven,  and  especially  of  the  various  and  fitting  punish- 
ments of  the  wicked  in  hell,  form  the  theme  of  the  apoca- 
lyptist ;  and  it  appears  that  directly  through  the  influence 
of  this  book  this  theme  became  the  ruling  subject  of  apoca- 
lyptical speculations  in  early  and  mediaeval  Christianity. 
There  were,  of  course,  beginnings  in  this  direction  in  the 
Old  Testament  and  in  the  Jewish  apocalypses  which  we 
have  already  dealt  with.1  The  Book  of  Revelation  con- 
tains no  more  than  these  beginnings.  The  rewards  of  the 
righteous  are  described  in  the  Messianic  language  of  the 
Old  Testament,  and  as  to  the  wicked  no  details  are  at- 
tempted beyond  the  lake  of  fire  that  is  to  receive  them  all. 
It  is  to  the  Apocalypse  of  Peter  that  late  Christian  specu- 
lations about  rewards  and  punishments  after  death  are 

1  See,  e.g.,  Ezek.  32  :  23  ff. ;  Isa.  66  :  24  ;  Dan.  12  :  2-3  ;  En.  22  ;  10  :  6,  13  ; 
18  :  11  ff. ;  21  : 7-10 ;  90  :  24-27  ;  98  :  3 ;  103  :  7-8 ;  2  Esdr.  7  ;  and  especially 
Secrets  of  Enoch  10. 

353 


The  Messages  oj  the 

chiefly  to  be  traced  as  their  source.  Even  Dante's  "Divine 
Comedy"  has  been  called  "the  most  marvellous  fruit  on 
the  tree  of  which  this  book  is  the  root." 

Our  study  of  apocalypses,  however,  and  our  recognition 
of  the  large  place  of  tradition  in  them,  leads  us  at  once  to 
ask  after  the  sources  from  which  this  writer  derived  his 
materials.  The  closest  analogies  have  been  found  in  Greek, 
not  in  Jewish,  writings.  The  Orphic-Dionysian  religion, 
which  was  widespread  at  the  time,  cultivated  the  hope  of 
immortality,  and  elaborated  the  ideas  of  heaven  and  hell. 
These  Greek  ideas  may  have  been  adopted  directly  by  our 
author.  It  is  possible,  however,  that  some  of  the  lost 
Jewish  apocalypses  would  give  evidence  that  such  con- 
ceptions had  already  been  developed  in  Judaism.  In 
fact,  a  recently  published  Koptic  apocalypse  containing 
such  material  may  be  largely  Jewish  in  origin.1  It  is  to 
be  observed,  however,  that  the  Orphic  cult  itself  drew 
upon  Oriental  sources,  and  Babylonia  may  possibly  have 
been  the  original  home  of  these  speculations. 

The  Apocalypse  of  Peter  was  known  only  through  a 

1  Steindorff  {Die  Apocalypse  des  Elias,  Leipzig,  1899)  published  two  frag- 
ments which  may  belong  to  one  book,  an  Apocalypse  of  Zephaniah,  in  which 
detailed  descriptions  of  heaven  and  hell  are  given.  The  age  and  origin  of 
this  apocalypse  are  unknown,  but  it  is  regarded  by  many  as  a  Jewish  rather 
than  a  Christian  work.  It  is  not  in  itself  improbable  that  this  new  type  of 
apocalyptical  writing  was  cultivated  by  Egyptian  Jews,  under  Greek  influence, 
before  it  was  adopted  by  Christians  and  produced  such  a  book  as  the  Apoc- 
alypse of  Peter.  In  any  case  Greek  influence  is  the  probable  source  of  this 
radical  change  in  the  nature  of  apocalyptical  speculations. 

354 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

few  allusions  and  brief  citations  in  Clement  of  Alexandria 
and  others  until  the  year  1886,  when  about  half  of  it  was 
discovered  in  a  burying-ground  in  Egypt.  It  probably 
dates  from  before  150  A.  D.,  and  seems  to  have  been  used 
by  the  writer  of  Second  Peter.  It  may  be  read  in  English 
in  the  "Ante-Nicene  Fathers"  (vol.  ix.). 

The  extant  fragment  begins  with  the  last  sentences  of  a  Last  things 
prediction  by  Jesus,  and  concerns  false  prophets  and  the  Vision 
coming  of  God  as  saviour  and  judge.     The  Lord  then  righteous 
takes  the  twelve  disciples  into  a  mountain,  and  there,  at  dead 
their  request,  he  shows  them  two  of  their  departed  breth- 
ren, that  they  may  know  the  appearance  of  the  righteous 
in  the  other  world.     They  have  a  dazzling  lustre  and  an 
inexpressible   glory  and  beauty  of  body  and   raiment.1 
Peter  asks  to  see  the  abode  of  these  glorified  ones,  and  vision  of 
is  shown  a  place  outside  of  this  world,  characterized  by 
brilliant  light,  and  fair  flowers,  and  fragrant  and  fruitful 
trees,  where  men  are  clad  like  angels,  and  have  angels 
as  their  companions.     Here  there  were  no  distinctions  of 
rank,  but  all  had  the  same  glory. 

Over  against  this  heaven  Peter  saw  the  place  of  pun-  Vision 
ishment.  Here  the  punishments  were  appropriate  to  the 
sins.  Blasphemers  were  hanging  by  their  tongues.  Adul- 
terers hung  by  hair  or  feet  over  a  lake  of  flaming  mire. 
Murderers  were  cast  into  a  gorge  where  they  were  bitten 
by  reptiles  and  tormented  by  worms,  while  the  souls  of 

*Cf.  Matt.  17  :  a. 

355 


The  Messages  of  the  Apocalyptical  Writers 

their  victims  declared  God's  judgments  just.  Persecu- 
tors stood  up  to  the  waist  in  flames  and  were  lashed  by 
evil  spirits,  and  their  bowels  gnawed  by  worms.  Blas- 
phemers and  slanderers  bit  their  lips  and  had  molten  iron 
poured  over  their  eyes.  False  witnesses  gnawed  their 
tongues,  and  their  mouths  were  filled  with  fire.  The  un- 
merciful rich,  in  filthy  rags,  rolled  about  on  sharp,  red- 
hot  stones.  Usurers  stood  in  a  boiling  lake  of  pitch  and 
blood.  Sodomites  were  cast  down  a  great  cliff  and  always 
driven  up  to  be  cast  down  again.  Idolators  were  burned. 
The  manuscript  breaks  off  in  the  midst  of  further  de- 
tails of  the  same  sort.  From  the  other  fragments  we 
learn  that  this  apocalypse  taught  that  children  who  die 
in  premature  birth  are  cared  for  by  guardian  angels,  who 
instruct  and  discipline  them  until  they  are  fitted  to  have 
part  in  heaven.  The  judgment,  we  further  learn,  is  to  be 
absolutely  universal,  over  all  men  and  over  earth  and 
heaven  itself. 


356 


APPENDIX 


APPENDIX 

BOOKS    OF    REFERENCE 

The  following  notes  aim  simply  to  be  of  service  to  those  who 
may  wish  further  to  pursue  the  study  of  the  apocalypses  in  a 
historical  spirit.  No  review  of  the  vast  literature  of  the  subject 
is  attempted. 

THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL 

The  historical  events  that  form  the  background  of  this  book 
are  fully  treated  in  E.  R.  Bevan's  "The  House  of  Seleucus" 
(2  vols.,  London,  1902)  ;  in  German,  in  Niese's  "Geschichte 
der  griechischen  und  makedonischen  Staaten  "  (vol.  hi.,  Berlin, 
1904).  See  also  Schurer's  "  History  of  the  Jewish  People  in 
the  Time  of  Jesus  Christ"  (Scribners),  I.,  i.,  pp.  186  ff.,  and 
Mahaffy's  "The  Empire  of  the  Ptolemies"  (Macmillan,  1895). 
Among  the  best  general  introductions  to  Daniel  are  Schurer's 
(II.,  iii.,  pp.  49  ff.),  and  the  articles  in  Hastings's  "Dictionary 
of  the  Bible,"  by  Curtis,  and  in  the  "  Encyclopedia  Biblica," 
by  Kamphausen.  Among  commentaries,  those  of  Driver  ("  The 
Book  of  Daniel,"  1900,  Cambridge  Bible),  A.  A.  Bevan  ("A 
Short  Commentary  on  the  Book  of  Daniel,"  Cambridge,  1892), 
and  J.  D.  Prince  ("A  Critical  Commentary  on  the  Book  of 
Daniel,"  Leipzig,  1899),  are  especially  valuable  ;  in  German, 
those  of  Behrmann  (1894)  and  Marti  (1901). 

359 


The  Messages  oj  the 


THE    BOOK    OF    REVELATION 

The  historical  background  may  best  be  studied  in  the  arti- 
cles on  the  seven  cities  in  Hastings's  "  Dictionary,"  by  Ramsay, 
and  in  the  "Encyclopedia  Biblica,"  by  Woodhouse  ;  and  now, 
especially,  in  Ramsay's  "The  Letters  to  the  Seven  Churches" 
(Armstrong,  1905).  In  this  book  we  have  abundant  evidence 
of  Professor  Ramsay's  special  knowledge  of  the  Asian  Prov- 
ince, both  geographically  and  historically.  On  questions  of 
criticism  and  interpretation,  however,  his  views  of  Revelation 
should  be  carefully  and  cautiously  weighed.  The  portion  of 
Mommsen's  "Provinces  of  the  Roman  Empire"  (Scribners, 
1887)  relating  to  the  Asian  Province  may  also  be  read. 
Among  introductory  discussions  of  the  Book  of  Revelation, 
the  writer  may  refer  to  his  own  article  in  Hastings's  "Diction- 
ary," in  which  some  matters  are  treated  with  greater  detail 
than  in  the  present  volume.  See,  further,  the  article  "Apoca- 
lypse" in  the  "Encyclopedia  Biblica,"  by  Bousset,  whose  book, 
"The  Antichrist  Legend"  (London,  1896),  should  also  be  con- 
sulted as  an  important  contribution  to  the  history  of  some  of 
the  traditions  made  use  of  in  Revelation.  The  articles,  "Apoca- 
lypse" and  "  Millennium"  in  the  "Encyclopaedia  Britannica," 
by  Harnack,  should  still  be  consulted,  and  also  the  discussions  of 
our  book  in  Julicher's  "Introduction  to  the  New  Testament" 
(London,  1904),  and  in  Wernle's  "  Beginnings  of  Christianity" 
(Williams  and  Norgate,  1903).  Of  older  works,  it  must  suffice 
to  say  that  the  historical  method  of  interpretation  was  set  forth 
in  classic  form  in  the  great  work  of  Liicke,  "Einleitung  in  die 
Offenbarung  des  Johannes"  (1832,  2d  ed.,1852).  In  this  treatise 

360 


Apocalyptical  Writers 

the  Jewish  apocalypses  were  investigated,  with  full  recognition 
of  the  fact  that  the  Book  of  Revelation  belonged  to  this  class  of 
literature,  and  could  be  understood  only  when  looked  at  in 
this  light ;  the  book  was  regarded  as  having  a  message  for  its 
immediate  present,  and  the  Roman  empire  was  recognized  as 
the  power  of  evil  against  which  it  was  chiefly  directed.  It 
should  be  said  that  this  historical  method  had  a  long,  though 
scattered,  history  before  Liicke,  and  that  other  scholars,  con- 
temporary with  him,  deserve  equal  credit,  especially  Ewald, 
Bleek,  and  de  Wette.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  this  histor- 
ical method  found  an  early  and  able  advocate  in  America  in 
Professor  Moses  Stuart  ("A  Commentary  on  the  Apocalypse," 
2  vols.,  Andover,  1845),  whose  work — dependent  in  consider- 
able measure  on  Liicke — can  still  be  read  with  great  profit. 
Here  and  in  Bleek's  "Lectures  on  the  Apocalypse"  (London, 
1875),  the  English  reader  will  still  find,  on  the  essential  matters, 
safe  guidance.  The  same  point  of  view  is  occupied  by  the 
earlier  Meyer's  "Commentary  on  Revelation,"  by  Diisterdieck 
(1852),  which  is  in  English  (Funk  &  Wagnalls,  1887).  These 
earlier  critical  works  are  d  ficient  chiefly  through  the  absence 
of  literary  analysis,  and  of  the  tracing  of  traditional  material 
back  in  part  to  foreign  sources.  On  the  other  hand,  unhistor- 
ical  methods  of  treating  the  book,  especially  the  understanding 
of  it  as  directed  against  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  have  pre- 
vailed in  Protestant  England  and  America.  The  works  of 
Milligan  ("The  Revelation  of  John,"  1886;  "Discussions  on 
the  Apocalypse,"  1893  ;  "  The  Book  of  Revelation  "  in  the  Ex- 
positor's Bible,  1899),  and  Archbishop  Benson's  "The  Apoca- 
lypse" (1900),  in  which  the  Apocalypse  is  thought  to  describe 
church  history  in  its  principles  rather  than  in  concrete  details, 

361 


The  Messages  o)  the 

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362 


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INDEX   OF   PASSAGES 


INDEX   OF   PASSAGES 


DANIEL  PAGES 

I IIO-II2 

2 II2-II5 

3 116-117 

4 117-120 

5 120-122 

6 122-124 

7 134-138 

8 139-142 

9 147-149 

10-12   155-166 

REVELATION 

1-3 202-208 

4 214-215 

5 215-216 

6 219-220 

7 222-223 

8-9 225-227 

10 228-229 

11  :  1-13 231-233 

1 1  :  14-19 233-234 

12 241-243 

13 249-250 

14:1-5 251 

14  :  6-20 252-254 

15-16 254-257 

17 263-265 

18 266-268 

19  : 1-10 268-270 

19: 11-21 273-274 


REVELATION  PACES 

20  :  I-IO 281 

20:  II-15 282 

21  :  1-22  :  9 288-292 

22  :  10-21 292-294 

ENOCH 

1-5 3OO-3OI 

6-l6 301-305 

17-36 305-307 

37-71 318-326 

72-82 307-308 

83-90 309-3II 

9I-I05 312-317 

I06-IO8 3I7-3I8 

ASSUMPTION   OF   MOSES 329-332 

SECRETS    OF   ENOCH 332~334 

APOCALYPSE   OF   EZRA    (2   ESDRAS) 

3:i-5:i9 341-343 

5  :  20-6  :  34 343-344 

6  :  35-9  :  25 344-348 

9  :  26-10  :  59 348-349 

11-12 349-350 

13 350 

14 350-35I 

APOCALYPSE   OF   BARUCH 35 1 

APOCALYPSE   OF   PETER 353 


367 


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